Living Pterosaurs ("pterodactyls")?

Introduction

Pterosaurs are prehistoric winged reptiles of the order Pterosauria, sometimes informally called
"pterodactyls." The word "pterosaur" comes from the Greek term for "winged lizard."
Pterosaurs are a diverse group (Figure 1), with over 100 recognized genera (Castro, 2016).
Although they are also often called "flying dinosaurs," pterosaurs are not actually dinosaurs, but a
separate group of reptiles. Their fossils range from late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (about 228
to 65 million years ago). Many early forms had long tails and many sharp teeth (Figure 2a), while others
Pterodactylus had long snouts but reduced tails (Figure 2b). Later forms such as Pteranodon
(Figures 3a, 3b) exhibited large head crests but lacked teeth. All had long wings formed by membranes of skin
and other tissues stretched over an extremely long forth finger on each arm. Evidently the bodies of many were covered with
hair or hair-like filaments called pycnofibers, and some sported head crests of various sizes and shapes. Their adult sizes
spanned a wide range, from some as small as robins to giant forms that were the largest winged creatures of
all time. The latter included genera such as Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx with wing spans of
over 30 feet, although there is some debate over whether these huge forms could fly (Witton and Naish, 2013).

Based on fossil evidence, most scientists believe that pterosaurs went extinct along with non-avian
dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 65 million years ago. Nevertheless, some cryptozoologists
(who investigate reported but unconfirmed creatures) and young earth creationists (who believe that
the Earth and all life forms were created only 6,000 to 10,000 years ago) have argued that one or more
pterosaur species may have survived into modern times, and that some may still be alive today. According
to Jonathan Whitcomb, one of the most active and vocal "living pterosaur" advocates, most are similar to
prehistoric "rhamphorhynchoid" forms, but with large head crests more typical of Pteranodon-like
pterosaurs, which he depicts in some drawings (Figures 7a and 18).

Whereas I acknowledge the slightest possibility of living pterosaurs (hereafter abbreviated "LPs") in remote areas, I
and most conventional scientists remain very skeptical, since 1. There is no fossil evidence that any pterosaurs
survived past the Cretaceous Period, and 2. Most supposed evidence for LPs relies on reported "sightings" which lack
credible photos or other forensic documentation. Such anecdotal
evidence is not a sound basis for firm scientific conclusions. Numerous studies have indicated that eyewitness
testimony is very unreliable, and can be affected by many factors, including physical and temporal
distance, bias, motivations, etc. (Arkowitz, 2010; Engelhardt, 1999).

Other alleged evidence for modern pterosaurs includes artifacts and rock etchings of questionable origin or
very subjective interpretation. What is sorely lacking, besides convincing photos of extant pterosaurs,
is any reliably documented forensic or physical remains such as carcasses, bones, eggs, nests, or tracks. Indeed,
the totality of evidence for LPs seems even less abundant and more equivocal than for other unconfirmed
creatures or "cryptids," such as "Bigfoot" or the "Loch Ness Monster," which is probably why even among young
earth creationists (YECs) and cryptozoologists, relatively few advocate the idea of living pterosaurs.

Whitcomb and associates have suggested that mainstream scientists are unduly biased against the idea of living
pterosaurs on the grounds that such finds would threaten conventional geology and evolution (Whitcomb, 2017a). However,
this is a misguided notion, since the survival a remnant species from a group once thought extinct
would be a wonderful discovery, but not the least problematic for evolution or an old Earth. While one can argue that
everyone (including me) has some bias, any I have does not exclude the remote possibility of living
pterosaurs, even though I and most other scientists are properly skeptical for reasons already
discussed. Nor do we "fear" the idea of extant pterosaurs as Whitcomb asserts; in fact, I like most scientists
would wholeheartedly welcome such a find, as long as it was properly documented. As evidence, when such "living fossil"
finds have been made before, such as Latimeria (a modern genus of lobed-fin, Coelacanth fish thought long extinct until
one was caught off the coast of Africa in 1938), and Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood), scientists were not dismayed, nor
tried to cover them up, but the opposite: they openly celebrated and widely publicized the discoveries. Moreover, representatives
of many other groups that were alive while dinosaurs roamed the Earth are still with us today, including sharks and other
fish groups, crocodilians, turtles, lizards, birds, small mammals, etc., although the ancient forms are not the same
species as modern ones.

So, the focus of some YECs on finding living pterosaurs or other possible survivors of prehistoric groups, in
hopes that this will confirm their young-Earth views and refute evolution is quite misplaced. What YECs actually
need to accomplish this is essentially the opposite: reliable evidence of modern forms existing much
earlier in the geologic record than evolutionary theory can comfortably accommodate, such as humans or other large modern
mammals anywhere in the early Mesozoic, Paleozoic, or Precambrian. This is not too much to ask, since YECism holds that
most fossils were deposited together in a worldwide flood just a few thousand years, meaning that there should be countless
thousands of such finds. Yet not one reliably documented example exists, as acknowledged even by large YEC groups such as
AIG (Answers in Genesis).
Therefore, the finding of say an Ordovician or Silurian pterosaur would, ironically, be far more
problematic for mainstream geology than a modern one.

Likewise, Whitcomb's frequent lament that conventional scientists are blinded by a "universal-extinction dogma" (that all
dinosaurs and pterosaurs are extinct) is readily dispelled by the fact scientists already accept
that not all dinosaurs are extinct, since almost all modern paleontologists regard birds as a branch of feathered dinosaurs.
So, it is clear that scientific skepticism over the concept of living pterosaurs is not due to prejudice or dogma,
but evidence - fossil evidence pointing strongly to the likelihood of pterosaur extinction, and lack of compelling
evidence to the contrary.

Sightings

General Considerations

Many websites and several books relate numerous eyewitness accounts of alleged LP sightings in several countries, and
many U.S. states.
However, many entail ambiguous or inconsistent descriptions, which are often not fully compatible with
known pterosaurs, or clearly incompatible with other creatures, especially when all factors are considered (discussed
further below). Most important, none are accompanied by convincing photos or physical evidence. Even if we assume that all of the witnesses
are honest, serious, sober, and sane (difficult propositions to demonstrate), it is usually difficult to rule out
mistaken identifications. A couple typical examples will serve to illustrate this (allegedly more "credible" cases
will be discussed later).
A Thought.com website (Wagner, 2017) relates several alleged pterosaur "sightings" in the U.S., including the following:

"Early 1960s, California - A couple driving through Trinity National Forest reported seeing the silhouette of a
giant "bird" that they estimated to have a wingspan of 14 feet. They later described it as resembling a pterodactyl."

"January, 1976, Harlingen, Texas - Teens Jackie Davis and Tracey Lawson reported seeing a "bird" on the ground that
stood five feet tall, was dark in color with a bald head and a face like a gorilla's with a sharp, six-inch-long beak.
A subsequent investigation by their parent's uncovered tracks that had three toes and were eight inches across."

Figure 6a. Blue Heron (left), Flamingos (right)

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Figure 6b. Great Blue Heron in flight

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Figure 7a. Drawing by Eskin Kuhn, often
used by Whitcomb to show a typical modern pterosaur,
showing a large posterior head crest and long tail -
features not found together on fossil pterosaurs.

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Figure 7b. DC Comics pterosaur showing a
posterior head crest and long tail, as reported in
many "sightings," but not real pterosaur fossils.

Figure 5. Frigate birds in flight. Note the lack of
obvious feathers when observed from a distance. When
the legs are held together, they can resemble long
tails of rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs

Notice that both accounts specifically call the creatures birds. Only the first even mentions
a resemblance to a pterodactyl, and it was seen in silhouette, which tends to obscure
potentially important details. As far as the large reported size goes, people are
notoriously poor at estimating the size of objects, especially if in the sky or at a distance.
In this case, we don't even know how far away the creature was. The second account sounds decidedly more
like a large bird than a pterosaur. Besides being called a bird, a "gorilla like" face seems fit a buzzard
better than a pterosaur. If it made three-toed tracks, it further supports a bird interpretation, since
birds generally make tracks with three toes (or three forward pointing and a rearward pointing toe), whereas
pterosaurs had four long toes and one small toe on each hind foot. The reported size of the tracks is also
in the range of several large US birds.

Indeed, it is likely that many if not most alleged pterosaur sightings are misidentified
birds. Many large birds, including herons, egrets, cranes, eagles, vultures, pelicans, flamingos, and frigates,
can present superficially pterosaur-like shapes (Hill, 2014), especially if seen from a distance and/or in
silhouette. Some birds such as frigates have long tails can resemble profiles of long-tailed
rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs in flight (Figure 5), as can herons, cranes, and flamingos that dangle their
long legs behind them as they fly. Further, their feet in profile can even resemble a pterosaur-like "vane"
at the end (Figure 6a, 6b), and head crests on herons and egrets might be mistaken for crests of Pteranodon-like
pterodactyls.
Other animals in flight, such as certain bats (Figure 22) and large, short tailed birds, can resemble short tailed pterosaurs.

Another complicating factor is that many people have relatively
little familiarity with pterosaur anatomy, or with the variety of large birds that may inhabit an area, especially
when they (the people that is) travel to new areas. A bird watcher recounts an incident where a Great Blue
Heron flew by a nearby man in a bass boat, who shouted (apparently in all seriousness), "It's a pterodactyl! It's an
effing pterodactyl!" (Babsje, 2013). Even many bird experts have commented on the way herons and egrets
resemble or remind them of pterosaurs --from their long beaks and head crests to their graceful take-offs and soaring with
long wings and rearward dragging feet. A website discussing Great Blue Herons remarks: "In the air, these pterodactyl-like
creatures with wingspans of up to seven feet are quite a sight to see (Stevens, 2014)." A Birdnote.org article states that
this regal bird "Looks Like a Modern Day Pterodactyl...tall and prehistoric looking..." (Grey, 2007). Another states:
"The prehistoric-looking Great Blue Heron is one of the largest... " Frank (2015). Similarly, when discussing a
soaring frigate bird silhouetted against the blue sky (Figure 5, right photo), blogger Dan Grec writes: "I'm reminded of
Pterodactyls when I see these birds" (Grec, 2009).

Fig. 8. Radio controlled pterosaurs in flight

Fig. 8b. Paul MacCready with his 1984 ornithopter
based on the giant pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus

Fig 8c. Unnamed model builder with
RC pterosaur glider

Another problem, often neglected or minimized by living-pterosaur advocates, is that a wide variety of pterosaur kites,
radio-controlled models, and pterosaur "ornithopters" (models with flapping wings) have been available for decades
from commercial sources, while others are custom built by hobbyists. Where Whitcomb does mention "mechanical
models" he quickly dismisses them as being inconsistent with witness descriptions or site conditions, but they seem
capable of creating at least a few mistaken sightings, especially in developed countries.
Some are quite realistic looking, especially when viewed from a distance (Figure 8).
At least a few videos of them have been used to promote the idea of living pterosaurs (whether based on
mistaken ID or deliberate misrepresentation ). For example,
a YouTube video entitled "Real FLYING "DRAGONS" found alive & caught on camera?! (Pterosaurs, Pterodactyls &
Thunderbirds!)", which has no narration (just dramatic music) shows at least two radio controlled
pterosaur models, as well as some sculpted pterosaurs in trees, and dubious historic photos such as those shown in Figures 5 and 6 below.
One of the RC models shows rear leg vanes that are so distinct its specific RC manufacturer (Martson) can be identified.
Several other videos on YouTube and other websites purportedly showing living pterosaurs feature similarly dubious footage,
most lacking any source information.

In cases like the above video, we have many visual clues to judge the veracity of the claims
being made or implied. However, in many "sighting" cases we have no photos or film to go on, making it very
difficult to assess a witness's honesty or accuracy. In personal interactions, it may be good to give people the benefit of
the doubt, but in science we need more than trust in someone's sincerity and memory to make a compelling case. Many
people assume they can accurately judge a person's honesty, and that witness perceptions and memories are largely accurate and
stable over time, but scientific experiments demonstrate otherwise on all accounts.

In short, the anecdotal evidence on which LP advocates unreasonably require that we entirely trust all of the
following in each "sighting," which I'll term the "chain of uncertainty"

1. The witness was completely honest, sober, sane, and lucid.
2. The witness's perceptions were entirely accurate.
3. His or her memory never faded or changed.
4. The witness accurately described whatever he or she remembered
5. The interviewer or researcher accurately recorded the testimony
6. The researcher accurately conveyed the account in his or her writings

The problem is, in most cases we can't know any of the above for sure, let alone all of them. Moreover,
when accounts are related second or third-hand, or from individuals with histories of dubious or unfounded claims,
even more levels of uncertainty exist. For these and other reasons explored below, anecdotal evidence is of little
if any scientific value unless backed by compelling empirical evidence. Those who fully agree with this may want
to skip to the section on "Sightings"; however, for those who need more convincing, the following additional
considerations are offered.

Honesty, Accuracy, and Memory Issues

Whitcomb acknowledges that many sightings may be misidentifications or hoaxes, but "judges" that at least half are not,
and therefore "credible" (Whitcomb, 2017a). However, that is a highly subjective assessment. He admits that a small percentage
of sightings (perhaps up to 5%) may also be from individuals with mental issues, but seems to often neglect or minimize other possible
complicating factors such as drug or alcohol use, imperfect eyesight or viewing conditions, and most importantly, faulty
and faded memories. Those sightings he features in his book he often describes as "credible," implying that we should
trust the witnesses as completely honest and accurate. However, scientific studies show that witnesses are
often unreliable--either mistaken in whole or part, or less than honest (Arkowitz, 2010; Engelhardt, 1999). Just as
relevant, studies also indicate that people, including even police and professional investigators, are
generally poor at detecting when others are lying or shading the truth (Navarro, 2012). On p. 102 Whitcomb flatly states,
"Eyewitnesses are honest," even though in other places he himself admits to finding evidence that some are not. He
often asks why a witness would lie about this or that, even though as we all know, people often exaggerate and lie
about many things, for any number of reasons, or no discernable reason. Even if we could know a witness was entirely
sincere and honest, it is still usually difficult to rule out faulty perceptions and flawed memories.

Many reported sightings are from people recalling events that happened years or even decades earlier, often when
they were only young children. This is of special concern, since scientific studies show that memories
are very unstable and pliable (affected by many variables), and tend to change substantially with time --often
not much time (Dobrin, 2013; Konnikova, 2015). As disconcerting as it may be, scientific experiments have
shown that memories often change significantly in just only one or two days, and with each time an event is
recalled (Chant, 2012). Childhood memories have been shown to be especially faulty and unreliable (Vergano, 2013).

Although the scientific evidence for these things is compelling, most readers can probably readily confirm
them for themselves. Almost everyone has had the experience of recalling an event from their past with what they
feel is complete clarity, only to find friends or family members who remember the same event very differently,
often with just as much conviction. Recent studies have helped explain why and how this happens (Dobrin, 2013),
but whatever the reasons, the upshot is that mere recollections cannot be considered scientifically reliable
without firm empirical evidence to back them up.

Another concern is that Whitcomb actively solicits "pterosaur" sightings in his books and on many of his web pages,
often with large clickable banners asking: "Please report your sighting." This may prompt some to fabricate
sightings as a joke or lark. The link leads to a notice that witnesses need not leave their.
names, and may remain anonymous if their sighting is published. This explains why Whitcomb often refers to
witnesses by their initials. In the 2014 edition of his book Searching for Ropens and Finding God
(SFR) Whitcomb says that keeping witness identities secret will help avoid "making life too easy for hoaxers."
However, his reasoning seems upside-down. The assurance of anonymity may well tempt more people to fabricate or exaggerate a sighting, since
it would minimize chances of any negative consequences. Another problem with publishing anonymous accounts
is that there is no way to check what a witness said. Even if both the witness and researcher are sincere,
mistakes can be made in documenting or interpreting witness statements.

On the other side of the coin, some attention seeking individuals
might report a sighting even with their name, in anticipation of seeing it featured in an article or book. They
might also be subtly encouraged to enhance or exaggerate what they saw or remembered, or make it conform more
to other reports, especially since Whitcomb often praises those who "come forward" to report a sighting as
brave and courageous. That he seems to give the most adulations to those who give detailed and uniquely pterosaur-like
descriptions might also subtly encourage others to do so, even if they are not quite sure of what they saw or remembered.

Confirmation Bias

Another complicating factor is a phenomenon known as "confirmation bias", which is
the tendency to seek and interpret things in ways that confirms one's preferred conclusions
or preexisting beliefs, while neglecting or rejecting potentially contrary data. This can affect both
witnesses and those who gather or report their accounts. Confirmation bias is often particularly strong
when someone has firm religious or philosophical convictions they are trying to confirm or spread.

Whitcomb acknowledges being biased, and even asks in one place, "Who else has a greater potential,
at least theoretically, to be swayed by bias than me?" (Whitcomb, 2017, p. 92), but claims that
mainstream scientists are also biased by assumptions and "dogmas" about dinosaur and pterosaur extinction.
However, as discussed earlier, scientific skepticism of living pterosaurs is not based on assumption or dogma,
but evidence and lack thereof. Again, whereas I and everyone else may be somewhat biased by a variety of factors,
I for one have no philosophical stake in whether the Earth is young or old, but accept the latter due
to the great preponderance of evidence, which is the same reason I strongly doubt the existence of living pterosaurs,
even though I'd be thrilled if a live one were confirmed. In contrast, Whitcomb and his associates seem firmly
committed to the idea of living pterosaurs, and strongly motivated by a desire to vindicate their young-Earth,
anti-evolutionary views, even though demonstrating the existence of living pterosaurs would do no such thing.

Whitcomb sometimes argues that his motives are not mainly religious in nature, but many of his
writings indicate otherwise, including the title of his book "Searching for Ropens and Finding God"
(Whitcomb, 2014). In it he discusses his religious beliefs and motivations,
including his conviction (as misplaced as it is) that demonstrating the existence of living pterosaurs will help
confirm Noah's Flood and refute mainstream geology. One of his web pages entitled "Is the Ropen a Pterosaur",
referring to the 2nd edition of Searching for Ropens states, "Be aware: This is a spiritual as well as a
cryptozoological book, with much of the appendix disputing the General Theory of Evolution..." (Whitcomb, 2007).
Even his Amazon promo for the book reads: "This fully supports the literal Flood of Noah in the Bible..."
which he apparently tries to
soften by adding "although the genre is nonfiction cryptozoology." Whitcomb sometimes objects to being
described as a YEC (young-Earth creationist), on the grounds that he does not believe the entire universe
is young. However, he acknowledges rejecting conventional geology and believing in a recent fiat creation
of the Earth and all life on it, based on a literal interpretation of Genesis, which by any reasonable
definition, makes him a YEC.

"Eyewitnesses" can also be subject to confirmation bias and other influences. Even when entirely sincere,
they can be affected by peer pressure, and by things they have seen in movies, books, websites, etc., including
all the "sightings" they read about in books and websites that promote "living pterosaurs."
In other words, sighting reports and can feed off each other to foster more reports, and more confidence,
conformance, and details in them than might otherwise might have been the case --what might be called the "me too"
phenomenon. "Witnesses" can also have their memories or perceptions adversely affected with they are
startled or frightened by something unexpected or unfamiliar.

Whitcomb relates that his parents were psychologists, and that he therefore is aware of and taking into account all
possible psychological factors in witness reports as well as his own bias and methods, but often his
arguments and assumptions seem to indicate otherwise. Often he talks about why a witness did not seem
insane or dishonest, largely neglecting the more common and pervasive problems of faulty perceptions, altered
memories, and the many factors that affect can both.

Besides often describing witnesses as "very credible" with little to go on but their
word, he often seems to assume that virtually any reportedly pterosaur-like creature or feature is strong evidence
of living pterosaurs. His choice of words often demonstrates complete confidence in the accuracy of witnesses'
perceptions, descriptions, and memories, often based on his subjective impressions of their demeanor (even
in emails, where body language and such cannot even be seen). He often states matter-of-factly so-and-so "saw"
this or that, or that the creature "did" this and that, instead of saying the person reported seeing
such and such, or stated that the creature
did this and that, which would be more objective and scientific. Often he says that he found no reason to doubt a
person's word, as if that settled the matter, neglecting the fact that people often report things
inaccurately (whether deliberately or not) without showing any obvious indications of it.

Figure 7d. Cartoon pterosaurs showing large
posterior head crests with long tails, often
reported in "sightings" but not found
together on real pterosaur skeletons

Figure 7e. Cartoon pterosaurs showing large
posterior head crests, long tails, plus teeth,
sometimes reported in pterosaur "sightings" but
not found together on real pterosaurs

Figure 7f. This was done by an artist to
teach others how to draw pterosaurs, showing
a Pteranodon-like head crest with "added"
Rhamphorhynchus-like tail

In view of all this, mainstream scientists have no obligation to address the many anecdotes and other unsubstantiated
evidence for modern pterosaurs offered by Whitcomb and associates. However, in view of their increased publicity
efforts in recent years, and the curiosity many readers may have about their claims and alleged "evidences,"
reviewing some of them may be useful and edifying, and hopefully help convey some basic scientific principles along the way.

Specific Sightings, Locations, and Creature Features

Jonathan Whitcomb, who describes himself as a former "forensic videographer" and "LDS-Mormon high
priest," has compiled many allegedly credible sightings in several countries and many U.S. states,
and has published three books on the subject (Whitcomb, 2011b, 2014, 2017a), and an on-line book (2012), along
with many web sites and blog commentaries.
His 2011 book "Live Pterosaurs in America" (LPA) states that after he published many web pages about his 2004 PNG expedition,
he received emails and phone calls from people reporting sightings in over 20 different states.
Although it is sometimes difficult to know whether he is relating an eyewitness account told to him directly,
or from second or third-hand accounts, or books, websites, or other sources, it appears that
about two dozen of his accounts are from direct communications with witnesses, and perhaps another dozen
from indirect or literature sources. However, many of the accounts suffer from one or more of the
problems discussed above, and none are accompanied by clear photos.

U.S. Sightings

By 2012 Whitcomb expanded his tally of "credible" U.S. sightings (from both first and second hand sources) to 90 in 33 U.S. states, and
his worldwide total (including the domestic ones) to 128 sightings in several countries (Whitcomb, 2015a). While this might seem impressive
on first blush, on closer examination it seems to actually detract from his argument. Indeed, if large prehistoric reptiles were really flying
around most U.S. states and multiple foreign countries, even if mostly at night (discussed further below), instead of several dozen sightings
over decades, we should expect many more (at least thousands), and on a more regular basis, and at least occasionally good photos and bodily remains.
After all, many other nocturnal animals, including smaller bats and owls, are regularly seen and very well documented.
The discrepancy is accentuated when the sighting tallies are broken down by state. Twenty one of 33 states have only 1 or 2 sightings; another 3
states have 3 sightings; and only 6 states have more than 3. Texas and California have the most, with 10 and 13 each. Whitcomb argues
that many people might be afraid to report sightings for fear of ridicule, but even if this applied to more than half of witnesses, we
should still expect many more sightings, and at least some good photographs and hard evidence (carcasses, eggs, tracks).

A disproportionate number of U.S. sightings occur in coastal states such as CA, TX, CA, and SC, which have extensive shorelines
and/or large lagoons and marshes, where multiple species of large water birds are very common. This suggests many mistaken identifications,
and in view of the topography, begs the question of where giant pterosaurs (many with reported wing spans between 10 and 30 feet) could
possibly be hiding during the day, or even at night for that matter (discussed further below).

Whitcomb emphasizes that some witnesses describe features incompatible with modern birds, such as teeth, a
long tail ending in a "diamond," and the lack feathers. But again, even if we could rule out exaggerations and
fabrications, mistaken ID's are not only possible, but in all liklihood, very common. As mentioned earlier,
the legs and feet of some birds in flight can mimic pterosaur-like tails, including an apparent vane at the end (Figure 6).
Relatively few witnesses refer to teeth, and even they are typically from distances or under conditions that would make it difficult
to reliably discern such details. The same goes for feathers. Often they are difficult to distinguish when a bird is
seen only briefly or at a distance. Frigate birds in particular have wings that often appear featherless, and the smooth,
grey feathers of some herons can appear cloth-like or leather-like.

Combo Pterosaurs

Whitcomb notes that most pterosaur sightings describe creatures with both large Pteranodon-like posterior head crests
and long Rhamphorhynchus-like tails, as often illustrated in his writings (Figures 7, 8e). Unfortunately, this too is more of a
detriment than asset to his case, since no known fossil pterosaurs display both features.
He suggests that modern pterosaurs may be significantly different from ancient ones, and that at least one Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur,
Scaphognathus, had a head crest (Whitcomb, 2010d). However, the first is very speculative, and the second largely moot if not misleading.
First, it is not clear that Scaphognathus had a head crest; the fossil skull does not show it, nor is it shown on some
reconstructions (Figure 9). There are a few other similar genera with evidence of head crests, such as Pterorhynchus,
Darwinopterus, and Wukongopterus. However, they do not help either, since their crests are basically delta,
crescent, or semi-circular in shape, situated on top of the head and/or snout, and largely composed of integument rather than bone.
Thus they are very different from the large, bony, posterior head crests of Pteranodons, and those shown in Whitcomb's composite
Ropen drawings.

Figure 10. Cartoon "Ropen" showing
long tail with Rhamphorhynchus-like
head crest, used on J. Whitcomb's
"What is a Ropen?" web page

Also, these genera had wing spans under three feet -considerably smaller than most of the huge creatures reported in "sightings."
Moreover, Whitcomb neglects or downplays more plausible explanations that are unfavorable to his position. One is the ability
of herons and other large birds to show both head crests (albeit made of feathers) and the illusion of long tails (Figure 6). Another
is that some witnesses may mentally combine features of different pterosaurs seen in museums, books, and web sites. A third
is that again, some may also have been influenced by cartoons or other fictional pterosaurs that often combine both features.
Whitcomb tries to discount the latter by claiming that such depictions "went extinct decades ago." Actually, many pterosaurs created
in modern years still combine both features (Figures 7d, 7e, 7f, 10, 14e), as do many older ones people see in earlier literature or
on the web (Figures 7b, 7c). Furthermore, of those that "went extinct", many did so more recently than the
alleged sightings. Indeed, some of Whitcomb's favorite "sightings" were made decades ago, such as Hodgkinson, who actually said he
was reminded of "Alley Oop" pterosaurs. Figure 7f is also an interesting example. It was done by a currently working
artist who teaches others how to draw pterosaurs. Her sample drawing shows a pterosaur with a Pteranodon-like head crest. Her
notes next to the drawing (lower right) read "I add a tail for drama!"

Ironically, even if some of these "combo" pterosaur
depictions have gone extinct, Whitcomb has done his part to resurrect them, with his books and many pages showing similar drawings.
These include his often used Eskin drawing (Figure 7), his "composite" Ropen (Figure 18), and one of the cartoons he uses on his "What
is a Ropen" web page (Figure 10). In other words, his own promotions, icons, and depictions of living pterosaurs are, ironically,
fostering the same potentially complicating influences that he claims went extinct decades ago. Underscoring these concerns, a
study by Kang (2011) demonstrated that "visual working memory" can influence our perceptions; in other words, mental images in the
mind's eye can alter the way we see and remember things.

In this vein, it may be telling that LP witnesses seldom describe creatures with fur or hair, even though fossil
evidence indicates that most if not all pterosaurs had furry coats made of hair-like filaments called pycnofibers.
The likely explanation is that many sightings are influenced by pterosaurs seen in movies and popular literature,
in which hair is seldom shown, or not obvious. Likewise, it is also likely that pterosaurs had translucent wing
membranes, yet this too is virtually never reported in "sightings." Instead they are often describe them as "leathery" -- again
matching popular and fictional depictions more than real pterosaurs.

In short, there is ample evidence that people often conflate (either by accident or intentionally) key features of
different pterosaur groups, and thus imagine, describe, and/or illustrate composites such as those seen in many
cartoons and films, and described in many "living pterosaur" reports, but which are not found in any real pterosaur fossils.

These things may be worth keeping in mind as we review some alleged U.S. sightings. It would be impractical and tedious to
analyze all or even most of those related by Whitcomb and others, but it may be instructive to examine the first several that
he describes in his LPA book, since are presumably among those he considers "very credible," if not the best. Afterward
several other often touted sightings in the U.S. and other countries will be reviewed, along with a "Civil War" photo that he
claims to be proof of modern pterosaurs, and finally, claims that ancient artworks or literature references support the
existence of living pterosaurs.

Susan Wooten Sighting, SC

Figure 11a. A "drawing" that J. Whitcomb misleadingly
depicts as a "sketch" by Susan Wooten, allegedly showing
what she saw fly by her car in South Carolina in 1989.

Figure 11b. Susan Wooten's actual sketch and notes.

Most of Whitcomb's first chapter of LPA covers a report from a young lady named Susan Wooten from
Florence, SC. In SFR he depicts it as one of the most credible pterosaur sightings. He explains that
in 2007 Wooten found one of his websites and initiated a series of communications with him.
He recounts that on a clear Fall day "around 1986" (over 20 years before
her report to Whitcomb) Wooten was driving down a road "surrounded by woods and swamps," when she saw something pass
in front of her car. She continues... "It swooped down
over the highway and back up gracefully over the pines," but "looked as big as a car...no feathers...not like a
huge crane or egret, but like a humungous bat." Whitcomb notes that she pulled over, as did other drivers coming from
the other direction, but she "had no time to talk" with them. He makes no further comment about that, but it seems to raise
a red flag. It's hard to believe she could not take even a minute or two to talk with other witnesses about such an
astounding event, in order to compare notes, exchange names and numbers, as people routinely do
even for fender-bender accidents, let alone something so stupendous. At any rate, Wooten reportedly told
Whitcomb that her "best guess" of the wingspan was 12-15 feet, and she volunteered to send him a sketch.

In his 2011 book Live Pterosaurs in America (LPA) and several of his web pages Whitcomb shows what
he calls Wooten's "sketch" of the animal. However, it actually appears to be a computer generated digital image
(Figure 11a), leading me to question whether it was really Wooten's original sketch. As it turns out, it's not. The original
drawing with Wooten's notes beside it are shown by Parker (2018). As the reader can see, it's a rough little sketch
(Figure 11b) that looks signifcantly less like a pterosaur than the redrawn version Whitcomb misrepresents as
Wooten's sketch, and more compatible with a large bird.
Whitcomb writes: "Common sense insists it was a pterosaur"
(Whitcomb, 2016b). Actually, it sounds like it is Whitcomb who insists it was a pterosaur, while common sense
dictates that the story be taken with a large grain of salt.

Whitcomb states that after Wooten learned of accounts of glowing pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea, she recalled going
with friends several times to watch the mysterious "Brigham Lights" or "Ghost Lights" along an old railway and swamp in the
nearby community of Brigham, in Dillon, SC. Like similar controversial illuminations reported in
other areas, such as Brown Mountain, NC and Marfa TX (discussed below), have been ascribed to many different possible causes, from
ghosts and UFOs, to swamp gases, seismic activity, ball lightning, and reflected car lights. However, Whitcomb
suggests that they all may be due to "bioluminescent" pterosaurs, having the ability to glow brightly for a few seconds at
a time. However, no convincing photos or other empirical evidence demonstrating such a connection (or demonstrating the
existence of living pterosaurs, for that matter), has ever been produced (further discussed below).

California Sightings

The second sighting Whitcomb recounts was based on phone and email exchanges with a lady identified as "MB" who reported seeing a
"Taradactyl" like creature sixteen years earlier while four-wheeling with friends in the back roads of Anza-Borrego State
Park in S. California. Reportedly she and a friend examined the creature with binoculars, and first thought it was about the
size of an eagle, but later decided it could be "3 times larger." She said "the back of the head was pointed" and "It did not
have a tail. But it did have a nub where the tail would be." She said it had a "sandy hue" and rather than feathers, it appeared
to have skin like "dull leather, sort of dusty looking". Note that there is nothing compelling here to favor a pterosaur over a
mistaken large bird. Indeed, If MB and her friend could really discern the nature of the body covering, and remember it accurately 16 years later,
it's curious that she reported leather-like skin, since that more closely fits fictional pterosaur depictions than real ones. Fossils
that sometimes record fine impressions indicate that pterosaurs had hair or hair-like coverings, and wing membranes that were thin
and probably translucent. Moreover, the lack of a tail contrasts most other "ropens" sighting, implying the existence of at least
two species (as Whitcomb allows, and some of his associates firmly believe).

The third sighting was related by a man identified as "SNW" who saw a "large flying creature" during the day in the
San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary of Orange Co., CA. According to JW, he described the animal as dark gray or black, about
30 feet long, with about half that being a tail. SNW reportedly did not see any feet, or get a good view of the head,
but that it had a triangular-shaped "flange" near the end of the tail. SNW described the wings as having "wrinkles" and
not showing feathers, which brings up the same concerns as in the MB sighting--namely, this fits common fictional pterosaurs
better than a real one. As far as the alleged long tail and "flange" goes, we're back to the ability of herons and other large
birds to foster such an impression (see Figure 6). Whitcomb relates that he subsequently visited the wildlife sanctuary and polled
visitors about whether they had seen or heard anything unusual flying there, but reports no promising replies. Nor evidently
did any of the many thousands of annual visitors to the park report seeing pterosaurs. Nevertheless, Whitcomb opines that he
found SNW's account "credible" and that it "seemed unlikely" to be a hoax, hallucination, or misidentification of any bird or
mechanical model. The trouble is, reliable scientific conclusions are not based on subjective evaluations or what "seems"
so, but hard evidence.

The fourth account (p. 19-21) is more of a "hearing" than a "sighting" since the witness merely reported
being startled by loud "screeching and screaming" sounds outside his house, about 1 a.m. The unnamed man, who at the time was
living in Rancho Santa Margarita of CA, said it sounded like "some sort of creature was suffering, or fighting..."
in his back yard. He said that when he went outside to investigate the strange and "terrifying" noises, he did not
locate the source, but after he went back inside, he formed a mental image of "a large prehistoric
bird about 4 feet tall." Remarkably, Whitcomb spends several paragraphs on this story, saying he believes it was "a
real encounter," that the man "is credible." He acknowledged that the man did not even see any creature, and that
it might "have less value than other reports," but that it "fits into the overall picture of a giant flying
creature." He even revisits it later in the book (p. 103),
should be considered "secondary evidence" and might someday be useful in some research." One can
hardly imagine a more severe example of "confirmation bias." Obviously, even if the man's
account were 100% true, the sounds could have come from any number of animals, including cats, raccoons, or other
common animals fighting or mating, or even a large bird, as the video-taped heron in distress discussed below shows.
Besides that, no one knows what kind of sounds pterosaurs made.
In short, the account is not just weak or "secondary" evidence for living pterosaurs as Whitcomb implies; it is zero evidence.

Marfa Lights" (Texas)

According to Whitcomb, mysterious lights in several areas, including Marfa, Texas, and Papua New Guinea (discussed further below)
may also relate to bioluminescent pterosaurs. In the case of the Marfa Lights, sometimes called the "Marfa Ghost Lights".
often described as pulsing or short-duration lights that sometimes merge or split, he suggests that they are made by
large pterosaurs hunting bats at night (Whitcomb, 2011). However, not only seems highly speculative, but inconsistent with
the fact that bats in the area are commonly recognized and well documented, whereas no photos or hard evidence of
pterosaurs in the areas has ever been produced. Moreover, the Marfa Lights have been the subject of a number of scientific
studies, which concluded that most if not all of them are due to a variety of inorganic causes, including
atmospheric reflections of car and train headlights, campfires, satellites, low-flying aircraft, and high-altitude lighting
(Lindee, 1992; Nickle, 2016; Bunnel, 2009). Although they disagree somewhat on which phenomena are the most common or dominant,
none of these serious workers suggest that any are likely due to paranormal phenomena let alone glowing pterosaurs.
Also, fossil evidence suggests that most large pterosaurs were adapted for eating fish, and
would probably not be well adapted to catching much smaller and probably far more maneuverable bats, especially considering
the exquisite echolocation abilities of bats.

In an on-line essay entitled "Science and the Marfa Lights," originally written by Norman Huntington (one of
Whitcomb's pen names), Whitcomb repeatedly refers to himself in the third person as he endorses his own conclusions
that the lights are primarily due to bat-hunting pterosaurs (Whitcomb, 2010e). He back-hands those who
disagree or who question his objectivity as "shallow minded critics," but as usual, neglects to properly cite their writings.
On another web page (Whitcomb, 2010f), and his 2011 LPA book, he gives more coverage to the issue, discussing the research of
Edson Hendricks, who concludes that most of the lights are due to atmospheric phenomena, and an eight-year study by
James Bunnell, who agrees with other workers that most are due to a variety of inorganic and mostly mundane causes (Bunnell, 2009).
Whitcomb acknowledges that he is new to the subject and that most of what he knows about it he learned from these men. Nevertheless,
he criticizes them for not accepting his interpretation, and challenges Bunnell's specific objections to it. For example, when Bunnell
pointed out in an email that the lights sometimes last for three hours in one place, and that one grew to an enormous size
that lit up the clouds, Whitcomb suggested that this is due to "many ropens" gathering together in a competitive "courtship
ritual," glowing as brightly and for as long as possible, and making a circle "more than a hundred meters in diameter" (Whitcomb, 2011, p. 86).

Aaron Tullock Sighting (Texas)

Whitcomb also relates several pterosaur sightings from Texas apart from the Marfa Lights, most of which are not appreciably different than
others from other states. However, one that Whitcomb showcases on two web pages (Whitcomb, 2010g, 2010h) might be worth relating.
Whitcomb states that a young man named from Aaron Tullock, of Marion Co. Texas, was in his grandparent's yard one
afternoon in 1995 (as a boy of 8 years old) when something flew over his head and hovered eight feet above the
ground. The creature reportedly had a wingspan of 4 1/2 to 5 feet, a long diamond-tipped tail, crocodile-like teeth,
long claws like an Osprey, and "orange and black" color with "tiger stripes." Despite the fact that the event took place
15 years earlier, when Aaron was just a young boy, that the creature's colors did not matching any other accounts from
Texas or anywhere else, and that the "long claws" and "hairless" body do not match fossil pterosaurs (which had small claws and
hair-like coverings), Whitcomb stated that the details of the story establish the boy's credibility and ruled out a hoax,
so that he concluded, "What's left except Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur?" What's left, I suggest, is that children (even more than
adults) often perceive, remember, and report things inaccurately. No offense to Aaron, but as we all know, it's common for
children to exaggerate or fabricate things, and to be heavily influenced by things they see in books, comics, TV shows, and
movies. Whitcomb mentions, but also seems to disregard, the fact that the boy's own mother dismissed Aaron's story as a product
of his imagination. As with many other sightings, Whitcomb seems to reduce his credibility assessment to a simplistic dichotomy
of 'hoax vs real pterosaur' or 'hallucination vs pterosaur,' while neglecting or minimizing more common possibilities and factors.

Figures 11b and 11c show drawings attributed to Tullock. I notice that the pterosaur in 11b seems to be drawn considerably darker and
with advanced perspective (overlapping body parts and such), than the lighter-toned and perspective-lacking rest of the drawing,
which might suggest more than one artist (or time frame?) was involved.

Phillip O'Donnell Sighting (Oregon)

An article entitled "Pterosaurs in the Bible" at the "Jesus, Dinosaurs, and More" web site (Taylor, 2014) states that
an email received from a boy (who was eleven years old at the time) read as follows:

"My name is Phillip O'Donnell. We live in Oregon. I really enjoy this website. The info about living dinosaurs
is great! I just thought that you might like to know that in 2003 my brother and I saw a strange bird. It was
perched in a tree for about 1 minute. It was about three feet tall with a white chest and black spots. I looked
at through the binoculars and so did my brother. It had a horn-like thing protruding out of the back of it's
head that was pointing upwards and was not like a heron's tuff of hair. As it flew away we guessed the wingspan
to be about 9 feet... The wings were long and pointy. It returned the next year and we saw it in the same field. The sighting only
lasted about 5 seconds. We briefly saw a long and very large pair of wings that had red streaks on them."
Here is my sketch. Please note that the body is not the right size compared to the head."

Taylor calls this a "Possible pterosaur sighting" but it is likely that O'Donnell saw a bird. Not only
did he call it a bird, but if we allow that the "horn-like" thing could be a bird's crest, then both the description
and drawing (Figure 12a) seem to match a bird, especially a large woodpecker (Figure 12b), better
than a pterosaur. Granted, he said the crest was not-heron like, but even if we can trust a boy's memory, woodpecker crests are
proportionally larger and more robust than heron crests. Likewise, if he somewhat overestimated the size (as is often done by
adults let alone children), it could have been a common Pileated woodpecker. The red crest might have been mistaken
(or misremembered) as red on the wings during flight.
Other candidates include an Ivory Billed woodpecker, but that is probably less likely, since they have been on decline
and rarely seen in recent decades; some think they may be extinct, or went extinct around the time of O'Donnell's
sighting. Dale Drinnon suggests he could even have seen the even larger Greater-Imperial Woodpecker, up to
2 feet long (Drinnon, 2011). Although once widespread in America, it declined sharply after 1950, and many think that it too may
have gone extinct in recent decades, despite occasional reports into the 1990's. At any rate, it seems far more
plausible to surmise that Donnell saw a large woodpecker or other crested bird (even a very rare
one that may now be extinct) than a pterosaur whose last confirmed remains are 65 million years old.

Three years after his sighting, while still a teenager, O'Donnell wrote a short book entitled Dinosaurs: Dead or Alive?
promoting his YEC views and existence of modern pterosaurs and dinosaurs (O'Donnell, 2006). Interestingly, O'Donnell's book, which
is endorsed by Whitcomb, does not mention his own sighting above. It does relate many others that are more questionable, including
a 15 foot bipedal lizard reported in Milton, OK, small T. rex-like dinosaurs in Colorado, a 25 foot tall reptile along the
"Gulf Coast," a "Troodon" like dinosaur in Texas, and other supposed dinosaurs and pterosaurs in other countries (including some
of the same ones Whitcomb describes). O'Donnell also promotes (without citations) several alleged out-of-place fossils and
artifacts, including an alleged shoeprint in an Triassic rock, a supposed sandal print with squashed trilobite, and a supposed Cretaceous
hammer, which were all well rebutted long ago (Kuban, 1997, 1998, 2006), and are not supported even by most YECs. Although some
leeway might be allowed for the author's age, O'Donnell is now in his twenties, and still sells the book. It does include a
bibliography, indicating that O'Donnell mainly consulted YEC books and websites, including those of Carl Baugh and Kent Hovind,
whose sensational claims even most YEC groups distance themselves from.

Sightings in Other Countries

Sightings in Cuba

Eskin Kuhn Sighting

Whitcomb (2011c) describes oft-repeated two pterosaur sightings in Cuba. The first, which he calls the "Gitmo Pterosaur,"
was reportedly seen on a "clear summer day" by an "artist" and U.S. Marine named Eskin C. Kuhn, at Guantanamo Bay in
1971. Eskin said that he was outside and witnessed two pterosaurs flying at about 100 ft elevation as he was looking toward the ocean.
Eskin is quoted as saying, "The structure and the texture of the wings appeared to be very similar to that of bats:
particularly in that the struts of the wings emanated from a "hand" as fingers would; except that a couple of the fingers
were short (as for grasping) and the other ran out to the tip of the wing, others back to the trailing edge of the wing to
stretch the wing membrane as a kite would. The vertebrae of their backs was noticeable, mostly between the shoulders. I would
estimate their wingspan to be roughly ten feet."

While Eskin seems to describe at least one uniquely pterosaur-like feature (tiny fingers not part of the wing), it's
doubtful he could see such details, let alone "vertebrae in the back," at a height of over 100 feet. I say over 100 feet, because
Eskin implies the creatures were seen at an angle (looking toward the ocean) rather than directly overhead, meaning that
their distance from him would have been far greater than 100 feet --perhaps several hundred feet or more. One might argue that he
might still have been able to see bat-like "struts" in the wings from such a distance; unfortunately it does not help the
credibility of the account, since pterosaurs did not have bat-like "struts" in their wings. Each membrane on a pterosaur
wing extended along a single highly-elongated finger (see Figure 32).

Eskin reportedly drew the sketch (figure 7) that Whitcomb often uses as a symbol of a typical modern pterosaur on
his web pages and book covers. Curiously, the sketch curiously does not show the reported "bat-like struts."
It does shows a large, posterior head crest and a long diamond-tipped tail, but neither are mentioned in the
quoted account, nor is that combination of features found on any real pterosaur fossils (just cartoons and other
fictional pterosaurs).

Patty Carson Cuba sighting, c. 1965

Figure 14. Patty Carson's drawing of
the "Gitmo Pterosaur

The second Cuban case that Whitcomb recounts was a 1965 sighting related to him by Patty Carson in a 2011 interview.
As Whitcomb tells the story, when she was a child, walking near some boat yards with her 4 year old
brother, when "Suddenly it sat up... right in front of us about thirty feet away...it leaned to its left and took
off...in a big hurry... and flew to its left and disappeared behind trees and terrain. It did have a tail and it
had a diamond shaped tip, (didn't get to see if it had hairs on it). The skin was a leathery, brownish reddish color.
It had little teeth, a LOT of them. The eye was smallish and dark."

In order to take the account at face value, we have to trust that as a child, Carson could discern details such as the size
and color of the eye on a creature moving quickly and only in her sight briefly, then recall them accurately 46 years
later. Her mentioning the leathery skin (not matching real pterosaur skin) also undermines the plausibility of the
account.

A follow-up article posted by Whitcomb in August 2011 discussed a "preliminary drawing" that Carson made
of the creature, but noted that Patty was not satisfied with the eye and other aspects. He also
noted that it contained some discrepancies between it and the pterosaurs described by Eskin at a nearby location.
Whitcomb wrote: I don't want to
publish the preliminary sketch of the pterosaur, for it may lead to some people believing it to be very
accurate in its present form (Whitcomb, 2011d)." Whitcomb later published a revised drawing (Figure 14) by
her, said to contain "many modifications" (what they were, he did not say). It exhibits a
large, posterior, Pteranodon-like head crest and jaw filled with tiny teeth (almost like a porpoise), even
though no known pterosaurs had both (Pteranodons were toothless). Whitcomb states, "She is still not satisfied with the sketch, in
particular with the mouth and where it connects with the skull, but she likes the eye and sketch" (Whitcomb 2011e).
Unfortunately, the eye appears quite different (lacking a vertical slit) that Whitcomb claims helps authenticate
a "Ptp" Civil War photo of a Pteranodon carcass (discussed later). Whitcomb subsequently used Carson's
revised drawing on many web pages and on his book covers. It shows only the head and upper parts of the creature's
shoulders and wings, although it's unclear whether this is because that's all her drawing showed, or because he
cropped out the rest.

The drawing appears to show a single bat-like claw on one of the wings, even though real
pterosaurs had three small claw-bearing fingers on each wing. One could argue she might miss such details, but if so,
one might ask how we can then trust details such as the eye and teeth, especially considering her many "modifications" and
her having to recall what she saw as a child over 40 years earlier. The latter alone is a major concern, in
view of the evidence discussed earlier regarding the tendency of memories to change with time, and for childhood
memories to be especially unreliable. Speaking of which, Whitcomb mentions that Patty's brother "came forward" to say
that a year after his sister's sighting he saw a creature flying at about 100 ft that was grayish-tan in color.
Whitcomb relates that he could not be sure if it had feathers or not, or if it was the same kind of creature his
sister had seen (Whitcomb, 2011e). He argues that his admitting being unsure of such details makes his report
credible, but that point is as moot as the account itself, since there is nothing about it to rule out a large bird,
even if his childhood memory were reliable.

Whitcomb used Carson's drawing along with Eskin's on the covers of his 2011 and 2014 books (Figure 13),
and often displays them together as icons of typical modern pterosaurs on many of his web pages. On the
cover of his latest book (2017) he instead uses the what he believes to be a genuine Civil War era
photo of a real pterosaur carcass (discussed later). The 2011 cover (Figure 13, top) shows
the two pterosaur drawings superimposed along a lake shore, with modern buildings in the background. Evidently
to Whitcomb this is not an unrealistic scenario. However, if pterosaurs are really romping and soaring around
even developed and densely populated areas, it underscores the difficulty of explaining why no convincing photos
of them have ever come to light.

"Ropens" in Papua New Guinea

Fig. 15. Papua New Guinea map showing
Umboi Island and New Britain

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a country occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, north of Australia.
Several young-Earth proponents, including Jonathan Whitcomb, David Woetzel, Carl Baugh, Paul Nation, and Garth
Guessman have led or participated in expeditions to PNG and nearby islands in hopes of confirming reports of
living pterosaurs, and relating them to local legendary creatures or beings called "Ropens" (sometimes translated as
"demon fliers"). Other legendary creatures called "Dah" or "Duwas" by other locals in or around PNG are suggested
by some to be the same as Ropens. Although often downplayed by Whitcomb and associates, these legends entail
various spiritual and demonic elements. Evidently many locals do not even associate them with physical creatures.
Some apparently believe they represent some sort of supernatural beings or human/beast hybrids--perhaps even vampires.
Some stories say they have a taste for human flesh and sometimes rob graves (though supposedly they ceased doing this
in recent years), and occasionally attack and carry off natives.

Whitcomb and associates attempt to link these legends to "sightings" of living pterosaurs, as well as to unusual
nocturnal lights sometimes called "Indava" by natives. However, the mysterious lights, which are similar to
others reported at dozens of locations worldwide, are considered by others to be a largely separate phenomenon, with
no reliable connection to "Ropens" or living pterosaurs.

Duane Sighting, 1944

One of the most often repeated "eyewitness sightings" of a supposed pterosaur in PNG (near the harbor town of Finschhafen)
was reported by American WWII pilot Duane Hodgkinson (since deceased) and his army buddy in 1944. While being interviewed
by Garth Guessman in 2005 (over 60 years after the incident) Hodgkinson stated that he and his friend saw what he first assumed to be a large
bird on the far side of a clearing, about 100 ft away, in daylight (about noon). However, after it took off
and then "circled back overhead and to the side," they got a better look at it. He noted that it had a long beak,
an appendage protruding from the back of the head, and a wing span estimated to be about that of a Tri-Pacer airplane
(29 feet). When asked about the tail by Guessman, Hodgkinson said he did not get a good look at it. Only after it flew out
of sight did they remember they had a camera with them (Whitcomb, 2017, p. 24-28).

Fig. 16. Duane Hodgkinson comparing his 1944 PNG
sighting to the pterosaur in an Alley Oop comic book

Whitcomb who communicated with Hodgkinson by phone and email, as related Chapter 3 of in his 2017 book
Searching For Ropens and Finding God. argues that this PNG sighting is one of the most
credible. However, he acknowledges that Hodgkinson's friend and fellow witness to the incident was a biologist, and
denies that they ever saw a pterosaur. Whitcomb speculates that this is because the friend was either
distracted by wandering thoughts about teaching, or because a living pterosaur would "drop a bomb"
on standard biology." He writes (p. 28). "George [the friend] should have been in a mood to learn something,
yet it seems that his mind was set on teaching..." However, neither is sound. First, the distraction idea is contradicted by the fact
that Hodgkinson himself indicates during the interview both he and his friend had their attention drawn
to commotion in the brush and the creature causing it, and that during the incident they discussed what the creature
could be. The second idea is contradicted by the fact that, as discussed earlier, whenever "living fossils" have been
found before, scientists have gladly reported and widely celebrated them. In short, Whitcomb displays a large
degree of confirmation bias here, by fully trusting Hodgkinson's word and memory, while dismissing without basis the testimony of his more
scientifically knowledgeable friend. Excerpts from Guessman's video-taped 2005 interview, posted by Whitcomb, are
available on-line at a number of sites, including
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl1A2xXnxpU

The video includes subtitles and comments, but never mentions the friend or his denial, despite it's
obvious relevance. Likewise, although Whitcomb notes the friend's denial in another book (LPA), he
says that the friend was a biology student rather than biologist, and makes no speculations
about thoughts of teaching; instead he dismisses the friend's denial due to "dogmatic" views about extinction. On several web pages,
including one called "American Soldier Sees Pterodactyl," and in his latest book Modern Pterosaurs (2017)
Whitcomb not only fails to mention the friend's denial, and instead implies that both men saw
a pterosaur. Unfortunately, this situation, combined with is misleading depiction of Susan Wooten's
"sketch" discussed earlier, makes it difficult to trust that Whitcomb fully and fairly relates all
relevant information in the sightings he recounts, even aside from other uncertainties inherent in most witnesses'
perceptions, recollections and descriptions. This is not to suggest that Whitcomb is routinely
deceptive or dishonest, but his obvious passion and YEC inspired drive to prove the existence of living pterosaurs
may foster less than objective reporting, and considerable confirmation bias in his perceptions. Reinforcing this
impression is that in criticizing this critique, he paints my above depiction of this account as erroneous and
misleading, even though it is based on his own statements (see Appendix D).

Whitcomb complains that skeptics often do not adequately explain Hodgkinson's having seen a long tail on
the creature. However, Hodgkinson himself says on the video that he did not get a good look at the tail.
Whitcomb says he too initially thought that no tail was seen, but says Hodgkinson later estimated
the tail to be ten to fifteen feet long. However, besides these inconsistencies, we are dealing with a
decades-old recollection, for a moving creature (where size is difficult to judge), and where a co-witness
denies any pterosaur was seen.

When David Woetzel (1999-2017a) relates the sighting, he too neglects to mention the friend's denial. Woetzel
only briefly states that Hodgkinson recalls that the creature had "dark-gray coloration, long serpentine neck,
beak, and distinctive head crest". Evidently Woetzel added the term "serpentine" since during
the taped interview, Hodgkinson only mentions a "long neck."

Interestingly, during the taped interview, Hodgkinson holds up an Alley-Oop comic book, which he says reminded
him of the creature (Figure 16). The page displayed shows a pterosaur with a Pteranodon-like head crest and long tail, even
though as explained earlier, no fossil pterosaurs show this combination. One wonders if Hodgkinson may have been
reading such comics before or during the war, possibly influencing his perceptions or recollections.

Brian Hennessy Sighting, PNG

Whitcomb devotes about two pages of SFR to another decades-old sighting on the Island of Brougainville,
east of New Britain Island, PNG, by psychologist Brian Hennessy. Whitcomb says that Hennessey related it to him
in email in 2010 (about 39 years after the incident). According to Whitcomb (2010c), Hennessy saw an "unusual" flying creature, slowly
flapping its wings. He estimated the wing span as "at least 2 meters," adding that it could have been larger, but the size was difficult to
judge because of the distance, which was also hard to judge. He said the creature had a long tail and
something on the back of his head that he described as a "horn", but says he "could not see any detail" and
could not discern if it had feathers. Hennessy remarked that it "looked prehistoric" but acknowledged,
"Well, maybe my memory has been influenced by the intervening years."

Evidently realizing that the account involved a lot of uncertainty and could well be compatible with
a heron or other crested bird, Whitcomb asks, "Could this have been strange large bird with feathers not
easily visible?" However, instead of answering "yes," as would have been appropriate, he remarks, "That
'horn' and long tail suggests a ropen or at least a large flying creature similar to the one seen by
Hodgkinson." Evidently lost on Whitcomb was the possibility that Hodgkinson too saw a large bird,
especially since the friend Hodgkinson was with denied that they saw a pterosaur. In fact, Whitcomb
seems to deliberately set up a misleading straw man at this point by stating, "Neither of these men were
along during the sightings: similar hallucinations are even less likely." Besides no one ever accusing the men of
hallucinations, Whitcomb is clearly implying here that people with both witnesses supported their interpretations.
However, the very opposite is true in the case of Hodgkinson's friend, and we have no information about whoever
was with Hennessy, or what they saw or concluded.

In his 2014 book Whitcomb says he showed Hennessy some head profiles to choose from (which seems
somewhat leading). Whitcomb says that Hennessy picked his 2006 composite head as being "similar," but
that Hennessy added that he "could not see any detail." Considering that admission, that he
could not discern whether it had feathers, and that Hennessy himself questioned the accuracy of his
memory from 2 decades earlier (as any competent psychiatrist would), the sighting seems weak at best,
despite Whitcomb often showcasing it, and scolding any skeptic who leaves it out (Whitcomb, 2015).

Baugh/Nation Expeditions

Carl Baugh who runs the "Creation Evidence Museum" in Glen Rose, Texas and
who has a long history of unfounded claims about ancient human tracks and other matters (Kuban, 2017), states on his website
that CEM has sponsored PNG expeditions in 1994 and 1996, and that these excursions resulted in nocturnal,
eyewitness sightings of "bioluminescent pterosaurs." Baugh notes that nationals and missionaries in the area describe
"flying reptiles with wingspans up to 25' across," known to many locals as "ropens," which have the habit of "scavenging
gravesites for food." Baugh's site gives no names of witnesses or photos of the alleged creatures.

Whitcomb relates that Baugh told him in a phone call about a crippled old man with cancer in PNG was attacked by one of the
creatures in 1995. Baugh reportedly said that the creature carried the man into the air and dropped him three separate times,
before being finally carrying him off and eating him. Apparently taking the sensational hearsay story seriously, despite it's
unreliable source, Whitcomb remarks, "It sounded like a dragon story but with the feeling of reality, and recounts other
stories about people being carried off by Ropens (Whitcomb, 2014, p. 17). He even suggests some "missing person" reports in Canada
and the U.S. may be due to pterosaur snatchings. Such legends and wild speculations may be consistent with cartoons and Hollywood films like
One Million Years B.C. and Jurassic Park, but contradict what is known about pterosaur anatomy. Fossils indicate that
pterosaurs, even ones the size of the larger "Ropens," did not have strong grasping feet capable of picking up people
or large animals. Rather they had very slender, weakly-muscled feet with non-opposable digits (Naish, 2017).

Figure 17a. Photo of "lights" taken by
Paul Nation. From D. Woetzel website

Figure 17b. Color-enhanced lights reportedly
photographed in the Yakima Forest near Spokane,
WA. Clifford Paiva suggests they were produced
by a glowing pterosaur, with the yellow arrow
pointing to the creature's supposed head crest.

Baugh's coworker Paul Nation, of Granbury, Texas, who accompanied him on his 1994 PNG trip, conducted his own
expeditions there in 2002 and 2006. After his 2006 trip Nation returned with video footage of two stationary lights he
reportedly filmed on the PNG mainland (Figure 17a). In 2007 two other YECs, former missile defense physicist
Clifford Paiva of California, and assistant physics professor Harold Slusher of Texas, studied
Nation's 2006 video tape of lights and concluded that they were about a meter in diameter, and not due to camera artifacts,
altered film, meteors, camp fires, flash lights, airplane lights, or car lights (Paiva and Slusher, 2007). Of course,
even if this were reliable, showing what the lights "are not" does not demonstrate that they are from glowing pterosaurs.

Paiva's original report seems to be unavailable and apparently was never published in print. What is
posted on-line is an abridged version that (as a subtitle indicates) was "edited, simplified, and explained
by Jonathan Whitcomb." In one of annotated sections Whitcomb states "Paul Nation videotaped two lights that we believe are the
bioluminescent glow of creatures very similar to the ropen of Umboi Island" without making clear who "we" is, or
whether both report authors concur.
On his own web pages Paiva (2014, 2017a) uses other dubious images to promote other sensational claims.
Although in most cases he gives no details about when, how, or by whom the photos or videos were taken, the captions and blubs associated with several
imply that they show flying or glowing pterosaurs in Washington state and other locations (Figure 17b), but which are best described
as ambiguous blobs. Elsewhere (Parker, 2018) he suggests videos of some vague shapes in San Francisco bay probably represents a 170 foot long
sea snake or a prehistoric Elasmosaur, even though most conventional researchers say the video is too indistinct to reliably diagnose
and could be due to any number of more prosaic phenomena (Skeptics Forum, 2005). He argues that an ambiguous shape on Mt. Ararat is Noah's
Ark, a proposition rejected even by most YEC groups, including AIG (Chaffey, 2016).
On various web pages Paiva devoted to conspiracy theories, he also shows questionable photos and videos allegedly showing that
the Boston Marathon Bombing and 911 disaster were staged by federal or local government agencies (Paiva, 2014), despite clear evidence to the
contrary. I mention these things not disparage Paiva, but to illustrate that he seems to have a tendency to overinterpret and
misinterpret ambiguous images. This is relevant not just to the "glowing pterosaur" claims, but also his recent promotions of
a supposed "Civil War" photograph, which he and Whitcomb claim to be proof of modern pterosaurs (more on that later).

Jonathan Whitcomb Expedition

Whitcomb himself traveled to Papua New Guinea in 2004 after reading about Baugh and Nation's initial expeditions.
Whitcomb did obtain some clear video and photos; however, they are of local "witnesses", not the creatures in question,
or even the curious "lights." He repeatedly implies there is little doubt that the lights relate to "Ropens", and
that Ropens are pterosaurs, but most of the "witnesses" reported no bodily forms connected with the lights.
Whitcomb says that only a few locals, namely Jonah, Jim, and Jonathan Rague, have seen "both the glow and the shape of
the flying creature." However, there are no supporting photos, and Whitcomb does not even say whether the shapes were
clearly pterosaur-like, or even if the lights were actually seen on the shapes. On Whitcomb's websites
called "Pterosaurs Still Living" Whitcomb recounts
several interviews with local residents. Despite retracting some claims from earlier interviews, such as a false
report about multiple pterodactyls being seen at once (which he attributes to language and translation difficulties), he
seems to entirely trust the veracity and accuracy of remaining testimonies.

Whitcomb concludes that the consensus of local witnesses indicates a single, primarily nocturnal rhamphorhynchoid
pterosaur species with a long tail and large head crest, having a wing span of 20 to 25 feet, which often uses
bioluminescent lights while flying and fishing. He notes that the term "Ropen" is mainly used by people on the PNG island of Umboi,
"where in the local language of Kovai it refers to a large nocturnal flying creature that on occasion, and briefly,
it "glows brightly." He explains that other native PNG languages appear to have different names for the same or
similar creatures, including "Indava", used on the PNG mainland, "Kor," on islands north or Umboi, "Duwas," in other
areas on or near Umboi, "seklo-bali," in or around Wau of Morobe Province, and "wawanar", in areas near Pilio Island,
off the coast of New Britain Island (Whitcomb, 2015b). However, there seems to be a major inconsistency in his
argument for one species, since various witnesses report a short tailed pterosaur, and others a long tailed pterosaur,
so if all of their testimonies are credible as Whitcomb repeatedly claims, it implies at least two PNG species (as suggested
by Woetzel and other LP advocates).

In 2006 Whitcomb posted a "composite drawing" that he says he an Guessman produced (Figure 18). Interestingly,
it differs significantly from the composite drawing by Woetzel (Figure 20a), especially in regards to the head.
Whitcomb shows a chart listing various features from several PNG witnesses that were evidently used
to produce the composite drawing. Curiously, however, the drawing does not appear to show any legs or feet.
In the chart, the only mention of feet is "Feet (tucked in) Hodgkinson". However, in the 2005 interview video,
at least the excepts posted on line, Hodgkinson does not mention seeing legs or feet. So, it seems that few if
any witnesses saw legs or feet. That seems to lend credence to the possibility that some witnesses may have mistaken
the rearward extended legs and feet of a large heron or egret in flight (Figures 6a, 6b) for a
Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur tail.

Figure 19a. Drawing shown on Whitcomb's web page
"Is the Ropen a Pterosaur" implied to be a drawing
by local Gideon Koro, but evidently just the snout
part of the head, drawn by Whitcomb himself.

Figure 19b. Back part of head drawn by J Whitcomb
onto which Gideon Koro reportedly added his drawing

Gideon Koro Interview

One PNG sighting that seems to especially impress Whitcomb and others was made by a local named Gideon Koro. He related
seeing a Ropen at Lake Pung with several other boys in 1944, when he was a teenager. A few months later he was interviewed
by Jim Blume, a local missionary-pilot and associate of Baugh and Nation. At that time, Gideon reportedly said they
saw 10-20 creatures with wing spans of 10-20 feet. However, during a 2004 video-taped interview with Whitcomb Gideon,
which is available on line, Gideon said he saw only 1 creature. Whitcomb felt "10-20 creatures" was
due to the confusion about the creature's size (Whitcomb, 2014a). However, adding to that confusion, Gideon told
Whitcomb that the wingspan was 7 meters (about 23 ft), which was longer than even the high end of the estimate in the 1994 interview,
and that the wings were "like a bat."
Whitcomb later decided that Gideon probably meant that one wing was
7 meters long, so that the actual wingspan was about 14 meters or 46 feet. One wonders at what point the wings on the
creature will stop growing, especially since Whitcomb evidently forgot to include the width of the torso in his latest
estimate, which would imply a Ropen with an astounding wingspan of about 50 feet--longer than any confirmed fossil pterosaur.

Fig. 20a. Woetzel's "composite drawing" of a Ropen

Fig. 20b. Statue shown by D Woetzel
with no obvious link to pterosaurs

At one point the translator said "He did not show his head," presumably referring to the creature. However, Whitcomb
then asks Gideon, "so you did not see the head well," as if encouraging him to say he saw the head to some extent,
right after the translator indicated that he did not see the head. Whitcomb then asks Gideon what the mouth was like,
again disregarding the translator's statement. Gideon replied "like a crocodile." Whitcomb then used a machete to draw
two animal heads in the sand -one supposedly crocodile like and the other pterosaur like, even
though they look very similar. Gideon picked the latter, and then scratched in the rest of the creature in the sand.
The drawing shows bat-like wings about the same size as the head, bumps on the neck and body, and a long tail without a vane.

Evidently realizing that the drawing did not much resemble what a Ropen is supposed to look like, Whitcomb remarks that
the drawing is "not visually accurate as he [Gideon] is not a realistic artist," later adding that neither is he. That
seems true, but if so, it largely undermines the drawing's value, even aside from the fact that drawing the head for
Gideon was not proper or objective. It also seems curious that Whitcomb
would not think to bring some paper and pencil along, or if he did, would not use it in a situation
like this, and invite witnesses to do the same, instead of making crude scrawlings in the sand.

A photo of the drawing appears on p. 83 of SFG, but parts of the sketch is cropped of the photo on all sides, and it is a dull, low-contrast photo, making its details difficult to discern. Two of Whitcomb's websites
show parts of what is implied to be Gideon's drawing, but each shows only part of the head, which again, was drawn by
Whitcomb rather than Gideon. One appears to show the end of the snout (Figure 19a), and the other the back part of the head (Figure 19b).
A You Tube video of the interview (Whitcomb, 2013a) also doesn't show the entire drawing, just parts of it. Curiously, none
of them, even the head that Whitcomb himself drew, look much like the corresponding parts of a real pterosaur, or Whitcomb's iconic Ropen
images (Figures 7a and 18).

The same video includes comments by two other locals who supposedly saw ropens: Mesa Augustin and Gideon's brother,
Wesley Koro. However, all they say is that the tail had a
"diamond" on it. In Whitcomb's 2014 book, he says that he also asked them, while they were together and with Gideon,
whether they saw what Gideon saw, and they nodded yes. However, he says that they Mesa looked frightened and Wesley
nervous, and admits that he should not have interviewed all three together, so that they would not influence each
other's answers. One must also consider that PNG locals may have been influenced
by previous exposures to American ropen seekers, and thus possibly tailored or slanted their stories accordingly.
In view of these problems, the discrepancies from the 1994 interview, and the
language difficulties, it's hard to know exactly what Gideon actually said and meant in each interview, let alone
what he and the others actually saw. Whitcomb's warns on one of his web pages: "Beware of critics who ignore
eyewitnesses such as the natives Gideon Koro, Mesa Augustin, and Wesley Koro" (Whitcomb, 2013b). I'm glad to
address them; however, Whitcomb's warning seems largely moot, since interviews seem far from objective or convincing.

Guessman - Woetzel Expedition

In 2004, Garth Guessman, a Southern California firefighter, conducted a PNG expedition to Umboi Island with David Woetzel,
a businessman and fellow YEC from New Hampshire, shortly after Whitcomb's expedition. They reportedly camped at two
different lakes, hiked mountain and jungle paths, and interviewed local ropen witnesses, with a local pastor
named Jacob Kepas serving as interpreter; however, they obtained no photos of
ropens. According to Whitcomb (2005), they considered one of their best witnesses to be local missionary David Blume,
who in 1996, near Manus Island, "saw a glowing penguin-shaped figure, but no detailed features." According to
Whitcomb (2014) Blume notes that many PNG nationals "give similar descriptions: bat-like wings, long body, tail with
flange, pelican-like bill, and a "comb" (more rounded than horn-like) on the back of the head..", with wing spans between
10 and 20 feet. Reportedly he also believes there are two dark ones with dark gray or dark blue spots, and tan ones with
dark spots (Whitcomb, 2014, p. 93). Curiously, neither Whitcomb's composite Ropen illustrations show any spots, and they
differ considerably from each other. Whitcomb's illustrations (Fig. 7a and 18a) resemble a long-tailed
Rhamphorhynchus-like pterosaur, but with a large Pteranodon-like head-crest. In contrast, Woetzel's
depiction (Figure 20a) resembles a Dimorphodon-like pterosaur with a small, bulb-like head crest added.
In contrast to Woetzel and Blume's conclusion that there are two pterosaur species in and around PNG, Whitcomb (2014)
argues for only one PNG species going by different names, although he allows for multiple species in other countries.

David Woetzel has a website called "Genesis Park" where he recounts his 2004 PNG expedition with Guessman. Besides the
witness interviews mentioned above, Woetzel
related his own sighting of "a possible Ropen" on Umboi Island, which he described as "a large, yellowish glow approximately 20-25%
the size of the full moon which was observed to fly behind one of the volcanic peaks. The light left no trail and it twinkled
around the edges. The whole sighting lasted for only a few seconds." Whitcomb commented on one of his websites that "This
may be the best sighting on this island by a westerner in years." If so, it is not saying much, since Woetzel confirmed that
all he saw was brief light, no shape or bodily form (Woetzel, 1999-2017).

Woetzel states that during a PNG expedition with Carl E. Baugh, missionary Jim Blume "observed one of the creatures
through a monocular night scope and snapped a picture of a strange print in the sand the next morning." However, neither Baugh's
nor Woetzel's web sites show the photo in question.

Woetzel's website once reported that a female missionary pilot experienced a "near miss" with the creature in the mid 1980's, and that she
"took a fascinating picture of the Ropen off the wing of her plane while flying near Mt. Barik." However, he showed no picture, nor
explained what happened to it. More recently Woetzel related that upon doing more research, he concluded that the pilot was not credible,
and deleted the questionable account.

Figure 21. Screen capture of alleged video of pterosaur
from Papua New Guinea (left) and a female frigate bird (right)

Woetzel also shows a photos of some museum artworks from the area, including what he describes as
a statue by an unknown artisan that "shows a medicine man with a reptilian creature on his shoulders (Figure 20b).
The trouble is, it does not closely resemble a pterosaur. Indeed, one can more reasonably interpret the
statue and others in the area as composites of several stylized known creatures, or as mythical/spiritual
beings (demons, dragons, etc).

The overall credibility of Woetzel's site is not helped his promotion of a "Japanese plesiosaur" carcass, which
years ago was conclusively demonstrated to be a decayed basking shark (Kuban, 1997), after which virtually all other
YECs stopped promoting the case. AIG, one of most prominent YEC groups, recommends that no one use the case as
anti-evolutionary evidence (Mitchel, 2010).

A Salem-News.com article (Aym, 2010) describes Woetzel's more recent PNG expeditions,
includes a photo still from a video, with the caption, "Amazing amateur daylight video of a 'Ropen' (Dimorphodon pterosaur)
hunting for fish off a Papua New Guinea beach." Unfortunately, when one compares a silhouette of a
frigate bird in flight with a screen capture from the video (Figure 21), it's clear that the animal
in question is a bird, not a pterosaur. What's unclear is where the video came from. I have not been
able to reach the author, and Woetzel related in personal communication (2017) that it did not come
from him. In 2012 Aym posted a similar article entitled "Stunning Evidence of Living Pterodactyls" that
omitted the video in question (Aym, 2012).

Non-Creationist PNG Expeditions and Sightings

In early 2007 am American paranormal reality TV series called Destination Truth, produced
by Mandt Bros. and Ping Pong Productions, visited PNG. Led by "paranormal researcher" Josh Gates,
the show interviewed a few natives, including Jacob Kepas, the missionary who acted as interpreter on the
Woetzel-Guessman expedition, and a local named Fabian, who said "we see red light underneath the
wings." The company actually filmed a light in the distance (albeit a white, pulsing one),
that they did not have an explanation for. In his 2017 book, Whitcomb states "I believe it was a ropen."
generally praised the production, mainly because it yielded more footage of the odd lights, and
helped publicize their ropen searches.

Whitcomb seemed less pleased with a 2009 production by Monster Quest, which produces
similar paranormal/cryptozoology TV programs. Their crew trekked to New Britain Island in PNG
to investigate the "Ropen" claims, and featured the topic in their June 2009 (Season 3) episode 15 on the History channel.
The show included excerpts from interviews with Garth Guessman and Duane Hodgkinson, as well as comments
from a professional paleontologist. Whitcomb (2017) was unhappy that the animation that accompanied
the program showed a short-tailed pterosaur instead of a long-tailed one like his composite drawing.
The objection seemed questionable, since he himself suggests, based on witness statements, that some
pterosaurs in PNG and elsewhere are short tailed. In fact, on his own web page entitled
"What is a Ropen" (2004-2014) he shows two pterosaur drawings at the top (one on each side) one of which has
a short tail, and the other a long tail (Figure 10).

Whitcomb also objected that the program mentioned the fruit-bat as a possible source of some sightings,
and expressed even more displeasure that the program showed the paleontologist stating that he felt
the chances of an extant pterosaur were only about one in one hundred million. Whitcomb went on for
several paragraphs about how biased and unfair this was, and how in view
of this a paleontologist would be "the last person on earth" he would choose to go on a PNG expedition.

Figure 22. "Flying Fox"
(large fruit bat) in flight

Alternative Explanations for "Ropens"

As discussed earlier, the Ropen legends are multifaceted, and to the extent real creatures may be
involved, they may involve more than one kind of animal (with living pterosaurs the least likely).
For reasons explained earlier, it's likely that at least some sightings of alleged pterosaurs
in PNG, as well as Australia and Africa (discussed below), are misidentified large birds.
There are no shortage of possible candidates, since over 800 species of birds have been
documented in PNG, with over a dozen being herons and egrets, besides frigate birds, eagles, storks,
cranes, pelicans, hornbills, and others with large wingspans, some of which are also crested.
Other "Ropen" sightings may be explained by large fruit bats, such as "flying foxes" (Fig. 22) whose
wing spans can reach over four feet across. When seen in silhouette (as is often the
case at night) they can present a pterosaur-like profile, especially to nonscientific observers.

Whitcomb, Baugh, and others insist that the PNG locals are well aware of fruit bats and
would have no trouble distinguishing them from pterosaurs. However, this seems less certain
when the animals are viewed from a distance, and as discussed earlier, various birds in flight,
can also present an even more pterosaur-like appearance. Their tails and rear leg lengths vary considerably,
but so did the legs and tails of pterosaurs. Moreover, some "Ropen" reports or other alleged sightings
of LPs elsewhere do not mention tails, or refer to short tails. There is a fruit bat called the
Long-Tailed fruit bat or Long-tailed Blossom bat, that has a fair sized tail. It is mostly known from
areas farther east in the Pacific (mostly Fiji and nearby islands), but the possibility that this bat
or one like it (perhaps with an even longer tail) exists in PNG, and the ability of large bats or birds
to be construed by some witnesses as "Ropens" seems more reasonable than positing an extant
pterosaur. Indeed, as discussed below, the word for bat evidently translates as "bird" or "bat" in some PNG
dialects (CreationWiki, 2015).

Of course, no bats are known to be bioluminescent. However, the linkage of pterosaurs to the mysterious
lights seems tenuous, since only a few people have claimed to see even vague bodily forms with the lights.
Whitcomb (2014, p. 280) states that some owls are reported to be luminescent, and even claims that they
may be bioluminescent (capable of generating their own luminescence) based on the writings of Fred Silock.
However, if this were verified, it would seem to undermine more than help Whitcomb's case, since it would
mean that if the mystery lights in PNG and elsewhere are related to any flying animals, they need not be
bioluminescent pterosaurs. Indeed, Silock himself suggests that the controversial "Min Min" lights in
Australia and other areas may be related to glowing owls (Silock, 2016).

As to the possible mechanism for the supposed bioluminescence in Ropens, Whitcomb (2014, p. 94) states that
PNG missionary James Blume who suggested that it may "related to secretions that seem to drip
from the creatures as they fly, like "sparklers" falling to the ground. Apparently he got
that idea from a sketchy reported sighting by PNG local Jacob Kepas when he was 12 years old, and caught
a "brief glimpse" of the back and tail of a Ropen or "seklo-bali" (Whitcomb, 2014, p. 94).

Although the reported size of many pterosaurs in PNG and elsewhere often exceeds any known birds,
as mentioned earlier, people are notoriously poor at an objects estimating size, especially at a distance or
in the sky. Furthermore, the larger the creature, the more difficult it is to explain why they are not seen more
often and regularly photographed (discussed further below). Incidentally, although a small portion of
pterosaurs grew to immense sizes (with wingspans over 30 ft). People are used to seeing pterosaurs in
movies and fictional books carrying off animals or people, but the vast majority of pterosaurs species
were much smaller, with many only the size of modern cranes or turkeys, and some as small as crows.

Speaking of birds, while discussing Kepas and his fleeting "sighting," Whitcomb mentions that Kepas
was surprised that Whitcomb used the term "Ropen" rather than "Seklo-bali," since in Kepas's
language "Ropen" means "bird". This seems like a very relevant piece of information, yet Whitcomb and
other living pterosaur hardly ever mention it.
Likewise, in an article on "Ropens" at "CreationWiki" website, the authors note that
several different words in PNG may refer to the same creature, but due to the complexities of the
many languages and dialects in the area, sorting them out is challenging. They then state (emphasis mine):

For example, "ropen" near Wau (mainland P.N.G.) means "bird." The same word (ropen) in another area
of the mainland, refers to the giant fruit bat that English speakers call the Flying Fox (CreationWiki, 2015).

Well, there you have it, from a YEC source no less. Whereas Whitcomb often ridicules "skeptics" for
suggesting that many "ropen" sightings could be large birds or bats, evidently in at least some
parts of PNG the very term "ropen" translates as "bird" or "bat". That does not mean every sighting is
a bird or bat, but added to the uncertainties and variations in "eyewitness" reports, and potential
influences or confusion with elements of various Ropen legends, it does seem to increase reasons to
doubt that any sightings are actually modern pterosaurs. Whitcomb himself indicates that about 90% of
the sightings are just of the unusual lights, which again, may have little if any relation
to real creatures, let alone living pterosaurs.

Figure 23. Manta rays leaping and soaring

Speaking of additional explanations for some sightings, the comment about "dripping" Ropens above brings
to mind the proposal by cryptozoology researcher Dale Drinnon that
some LP sightings in PNG and other areas near water might relate to "flying" manta rays. Drinnon
notes that rays not only have a superficially pterosaur-like shape, including large triangular
"wings" and long tails, but that they sometimes leap from the water to heights of over 3 meters, and
flap their wings several times as they soar considerable distances (Figure 23). Drinnon also
notes that they have a "leathery" appearance that matches many sightings better than the
hair-covered hides of real pterosaurs. Whitcomb points out that this doesn't work for inland sightings,
and ridicules Drinnon's suggestion as "desperation". However, Drinnon's proposal seems plausible for
the origin of the African legend of Kongamato (discussed later), and possibly some modern shoreline
"sightings."

Of course, Whitcomb and associates can continue to say that none of the alternative explanations work, because
this and that sighting had 'this and that' feature, or such and such sighting is not consistent with a bird or bat or
manta ray, etc. However, that approach presumes the complete accuracy of all witness perceptions, memories, and statements,
which again, are subject to all the uncertainties and complicating factors discussed earlier. When they are all
considered, it is usually impossible to know exactly what if anything each witness saw.

This comes back to the issue of who has the burden of proof.
Skeptics do not have to demonstrate exactly what was seen in each case, or what "Ropens" really are, or even
provide reasonable possibilities (though the latter has been done), since they are not the ones making extraordinary
claims. The living pterosaur advocates are making extraordinary claims, so they do have the burden to provide the
extraordinary evidence (at least compelling photos, and preferably, physical evidence).

"Ropens" in Australia?

Chapter 4 of Whitcomb's 2014 book, and much of his 2012 on-line book, is devoted to Australian sightings,
especially four that he considers especially credible. The first was by an unnamed couple
who saw what they first believed to be a large bird, but then decided might be a pterodactyl. Their viewing took
place about 10:30 p.m. near the coast of the Indian Ocean in Perth, Australia. They indicated that due to the
darkness they did not get a good view of the creature, but when ground lighting struck, they were able
to confirm that it was "a living creature." Despite being an estimated 250-300 feet above them and "slighting
inland" they claimed to be able to see that it was about 30-50 feet long had leathery skin, but "could not
see the detail of the head." Whitcomb says this sighting later strengthened his confidence about pterosaurs
existing in PNG. However, besides occurring under difficult lighting conditions, there is nothing very
compelling about it. The only aspects that don't readily match a large bird would be the exceptional size and
the "leathery" body. However, the husband acknowledged that the size was hard to judge, and the "leathery"
body fits fictional pterosaurs better than real (hair-covered) ones.

Whitcomb next relates a sighting from a twelve year old boy from a farm near Redcliffe, who said that while
doing his chores, he was frightened by a large winged creature on the roof, about the size of a man. Whitcomb says the
wings were folded to the side and back, "reminiscent of bat wings," but as is often the case when Whitcomb
recounts sightings, it is unclear whether these were the boy's own words (Whitcomb does not
put them in quotation marks), or Whitcomb's interpretation or paraphrasing. At any rate, Whitcomb does
even say that the boy himself thought he saw a pterosaur, and in view of the boy's age, plus the scant and ambiguous
information given, there is no reason to conclude that he did.

Whitcomb's third account is from a man from S. Australia who reported seeing what he first thought was a large pelican
about 5 km away about 9 pm, but and that when seen by "moonlight" it appeared to be shinning "as if it had no feathers."
Whitcomb says the man then searched online for "pterodactyl", and found one of his web pages. The only problem is,
if this account demonstrates anything, it is how prone some "witnesses" are to jump to the conclusions, and
how eager Whitcomb is to endorse their leap, or make his own longer one. He concludes "I have no doubt about his honesty
little doubt that it was a giant ropen." Evidently he did not even consider that the man could be entirely honest,
but if he made a mistaken ID, entirely wrong.

The fourth Australian sighting Whitcomb discusses was made by two pilots on a flight from Australia to Indonesia,
who at an altitude of about 6500 feet above the sea, reported seeing what they thought was a small dark plane coming at them,
but then realized it had the wingspan about that of a pelican. Whitcomb says that the pilots dove the plane
as the creature caused a "near miss." Whitcomb says that when he asked about the wings, one of the
pilots lot estimated that the elbow was about half way between the body and the wing tip, and that it has a
"low aspect" wing ratio (relatively short distance from body to wingtip). Nothing specific was reported about the
head or tail. Considering these vagaries, and their compatibility with a
pelican (known to sometimes fly very high), it seems likely that the plane just had an unfortunate encounter
with a high flying pelican. Whitcomb himself admits that this sighting and the previous one "could be misidentifications."
That seems quite likely, since as with the boy, the pilots evidently did not even claim to have seen a pterosaur. In fact,
Whitcomb says they discussed whether they had seen some kind of "soaring bird." He acknowledges that the account is
"far less convincing than the sighting by Hodgkinson," which seems telling, considering how questionable the latter is,
in view of it's suspicious elements, especially the denial by the co-witness friend.

Despite the weaknesses in four of these "down under" accounts, Whitcomb concludes, "We can thus feel confident that
Ropens live in Australia." Finally he asks, "What if a nocturnal, bioluminescent Ropen could light up with a
brilliant bioluminescence, a glow suggesting old legends of fire-breathing dragons are not entirely fictional?"
Of course, this questions seems not only highly speculative, but a little out-of-place, considering that the
pilots apparently made their sighting during the day, and did not mention anything about bioluminescence. Moreover,
apparently no other Australian pilots have reported any glowing pterosaur-like creatures during the day or night
(which you would expect at least some to do, if Whitcomb imaginative suggestion were correct).

African Pterosaurs ("Kongamato")?

Whitcomb, Woetzel, and others, including vocal YECs Kent Hovind and Dennis Petersen (2002), have claimed that living pterosaurs occur in Africa, and may be associated with
a legendary creature that called Kongamato, primarily in Zambia, Angola and Congo.
Some have pointed out that the term translates to "Overturner of Boats" which might fit other creatures better
than a pterosaur. Whitcomb hastily dismisses that point as "irrelevant," as he does Dale Drinnon's
suggestion (Drinnon, 2012) that the legend (or the similar legends of "Ropens" or similar creatures in
other areas) might relate to leaping and "flying" manta rays (Figure 10).

On a web page entitled "Kongamato: Africa has cryptids," Whitcomb (2012b) indicates that in Kenya
natives refer to apparent pterosaurs as "Batamzinga", whereas "Kongamato" refers to other pterosaurs in Zambia.
He recounts that in 1956 an engineer named "JPF Brown" saw two flying creatures near Lake Bangweulu in
Zambia, described as having a long tail, narrow head, and many pointed teeth. On the same page Whitcomb says
a boy from Sudan saw creature on a roof at night, lit by a porch light, described as being four to five
feet tall, with leathery skin, a tail like a lion, and a "bone looking thing" on the back of
the head. As usual, no photographic or other supporting evidence accompanied the accounts. Referring to
himself in the third person as he often does, Whitcomb stated that when the man grew up, he contacted
"the American cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb."

Figure 24c. Hammerheaded fruit bat

Figure 24b. Shoebill storks, native to Africa.
4-5 feet tall. Wingspans up to 10 ft.
Often described as "prehistoric" looking

Figure 24c. Maribou stork, Leptoptilos crumenifer

Michael Snoeck, who maintains a
website, archiving Hovind's creation tells other "Kongamato" stories.
In one, a Kenyan exchange student at Louisiana State University named "Romandi"
reported hearing of living pterosaurs in "his village back home" which had a wing span of
about four feet. However, the name of the village was not given, nor any photos
or other corroborating evidence. Hovind was reportedly contacted by an
African explorer named Melland, who heard reports about a "Kongamato" that inhabits the
swamps of the Belgian Congo. Natives were said to describe it as not quite bird-like,
but "more like a lizard with wings of skin like a bat's." Hovind states that the natives
identified pictures of pterodactyls as the same creature, and ends by remarking "Folks,
have we been lied to about dinosaurs being dead for millions of years?" Apparently he did not get the memo that
pterosaurs are not dinosaurs, and that paleontologists gladly acknowledge that
dinosaurs are still with us (as birds).

In his book Cryptozoology A to Z, Loren Coleman discusses the history of the Kongamato legend,
and concludes that the creature "appears to be a form of giant bat, despite some
interpretations of it as a reptilian prehistoric creature."
He notes that author Ian Sanderson, who reported seeing the creature in Cameroon in 1932, theorized that it was
an exceptionally large specimen of the hammerhead bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), "a particularly ugly-looking
fruit bat," which has a long snout and large teeth (Figure 24a). Coleman also notes that the well known
cryptozoologist, Bernard Heuvelmans, agrees that Kongamato may be an unknown huge variety of bat, or the
hammerhead bat (Coleman, 1999).

Whatever the true nature of the above sightings, as in other areas, large birds or bats probably
explain the majority of "pterosaur" sightings on the continent. African is not only home to a number of
large fruit bat species, but also many herons, egrets, cranes, hornbills, and vultures, as well as a large,
big-billed, crested birds, including the "Shoebill" stork (Figure 24b), which is often described as
"prehistoric looking" (Walker, 2017). Another large African bird sometimes described as "pterodactyl like"
is the Maribou Stork (Figure 24c).

Perhaps realizing the ambiguous nature of the Kongamato legend and reports, on a web page entitled
"Living Pterosaurs in Africa?"
Whitcomb writes: "But what about the "flying snake" of Namibia? According to research done by the British cryptozoologist
Richard Muirhead, one of these creatures "swooped down" from a cave near Kirris West, in 1942, (sixty
miles east of Keetmanshoop, south-west Namibia). It left a trace of something on the ground and a burning
smell. Could that burning smell be related to the cause of death of a fisherman who was killed by a kor "
(northern Papua New Guinea, 1960's)? "

Figure 25. Holaspis laevis lizard

To answer Whitcomb's question...
1. We have no way of knowing how accurate the story is. Even if it's true or largely so, it
could refer to a snake that was temporarily airborne.
2. Some African snakes can spring considerable distances when striking, while others reportedly drop from trees or
overhangs. 3. If one allows that the creature might be a reptile other than a snake, then more
plausible than a pterosaur would be Holaspis (Fig. 25), a slender and superficially snake-like
African lizard that can glide from trees and high perches as far as 30 meters.
4. Several species of snakes in the genus Chrysopelea in Asian can actually
launch themselves into the air from a tree and glide to another tree or the ground. Perhaps an unknown
species of this genus exists in Africa. That may be unlikely, but less so than a living pterosaur, or the
other explanations.
5. The burning smell and attempted PNG linkage is ambiguous at best.
In sum, the account appears to be another unverifiable anecdote of uncertain origin and little significance.

Scientific Principles

This raises another general problem, namely, if we apply the same loose standards Whitcomb seems to use when
assessing the credibility of these "eyewitness" reports, we'd have to also accept Bigfoot,
the Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, modern "Thunderbirds," and even mermaids, the "Jersey Devil" and
"MothMan." After all, as mentioned earlier, some of these "cryptids" and legendary beings have even more
putative evidence (as claimed by their followers) than "living pterosaurs." Whitcomb even mentions some of these
in passing, but chooses to focus only on supposed extant pterosaurs.

While science cannot categorically disprove any of these alleged entities, and anyone is free to believe in any or all of
them, science cannot accept any as well-established without compelling empirical evidence. This is summed up in the
adage, "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." A corollary principle is
that when extraordinary claims are made, the burden of proof (or at least compelling evidence) rests on the claimants, not those
questioning them. With a little thought, it's clear why this has to be the case. Otherwise, we'd have to accept
any fantastic or extreme claim that anyone makes unless one could disprove it, and that is not reasonable.
For example, if someone claimed that hoof prints in their yard were made a unicorn (or even zebra) the burden is on them
to demonstrate that, not on others to disprove it. This would be especially so if other considerations
or evidence undermined the credibility the claim, such as (in this case) the presence of horse stables nearby.

Other misunderstandings by Whitcomb about science and how it operates seem to be revealed when he suggests
that paleontologist are probably skeptical due to "fear" which he calls "the enemy of discovery." He asks,
"How much better to walk in faith like a little child!" Elsewhere (LPA, p. 108) Whitcomb tells us to "Trust
your feelings when you recognize the truthfulness of an eyewitness." However, in science sound conclusions
are not based on faith, trust, or feelings, but hard evidence.

Pterosaur Sightings in Other Countries

Whitcomb (2014) relates additional sightings of supposed pterosaurs in other countries,
including England, Spain, Netherlands, Mexico, and Canada. O'Donnell (2006), Gerhard (2007), and a few
others relate still other sightings China, Scotland, and Vietnam. However, none are appreciably
different or more compelling than the those already related, so I will spare the reader the details,
especially since I may have already given more than enough examples to illustrate their typical
features and deficiencies.

While relating some of these accounts, Whitcomb launches into a tirade (p. 171-172) against "skeptics"
who question his conclusions. He complains about the "fallacy of insisting an eyewitnesses needs to give skeptics
indisputable proof, adding "Why should any person on earth be required to prove anything to any careless
skeptic?" However, no one is faulting a witness for not being able to provide a photo or other clear
supporting evidence, and Whitcomb and others are welcome to believe any account without it. What he seems to
keep missing is that in science, we need more than anecdotes to form reliable conclusions; we need hard evidence.

Whitcomb often stresses how good he is at judging credibility in a witness. However, even if he was perfect at it,
anecdotal sightings are still inherently questionable, since as noted earlier, studies confirm that people often
have seriously flawed perceptions and memories. Moreover, as studies also show, people are generally poor at judging
other's veracity, even when they think they are very good at it. Whitcomb seems to be no exception, since he sometimes cites
as trustworthy individuals who by all evidence are anything but, including Phillip O'Donnell, whose book promotes
things such as T-rex like dinosaurs running around in Texas, and Carl Baugh, who has misrepresented so many things
that even major YEC groups have warned their
followers not to trust his assertions without clear independent evidence (Batten, 1996). Ironically, some of Baugh's
most obviously false claims concern a supposedly live pterosaur (at least momentarily alive) in France, which brings
us to our next topic.

Transparent Hoaxes

The Oily, Gasping French Pterosaur

Some alleged pterosaur sightings that are so specific and detailed that misidentification is not
likely. However, in those cases we still have to rule out other possibilities, such as deliberate
exaggerations, fabrications and hoaxes. One example of the latter, despite being quite obvious, has
been promoted by Carl Baugh and a few other YECs as a serious account of a modern pterosaur.
In his book Panorama of Creation (1989), after incorrectly referring to pterodactyls as "flying dinosaurs,"
Baugh states:

"The record states that in France, some workmen, in the winter of 1856, while working on a railway tunnel
between St. Dizey and the Nancy lines, came across a huge boulder of Jurassic Limestone, which precedes
the Cretaceous by several million years. After they had broken open the limestone, stumbling out of the
tunnel toward them was a creature which fluttered its wings, croaked, and collapsed dead at their feet.
This creature had a wingspan of ten feet, seven inches, with four legs joined by a membrane like a bat.
What should have been feet were long talons. The mouth was arrayed with sharp teeth. The skin was black,
oily, and thick. Local students of paleontology immediately identified this creature as being a pterodactyl.
This was all reported in The Illustrated London News, February 9, 1856, page 156. They examined the
limestone from which the creature had been released and found a cavity in the exact mold of the creature's
body. It this is true, it is absolutely impossible for that creature to have lived more than a few thousand
years in any form of hibernation...The worldwide, biblical Noahic flood explains this phenomena [sic] far
better than the evolutionary process (Baugh, 1989).

Many readers will readily recognize the inherent absurdities in this account. While Baugh says the
creature could not live inside the rock more than a few thousand years, his own interpretation requires that
it be remain buried alive since Noah's Flood--over four thousand years by his own time reckoning (Baugh, 1989).
Baugh's reference to hibernation does not begin to explain how it managed to live and breath without any
oxygen for a time span orders of magnitude greater than any creature's normal life span. Of course, common
sense dictates that the creature could not live inside a sealed rock for thousands of years, or hundreds
of years, or even one hour for that matter.

A TalkOrigins archive article adds some interesting background on the newspaper account:

At the time, there was a great Franco-Prussian rivalry, and the Solnhofen
Limestone from Bavaria (from which Archaeopteryx would later be discovered)
was producing many fabulous fossils which were loudly trumpeted by German
paleontologists. When a tunnel was being built in France through limestone
the same age as the Solnhofen Limestone, French "gentlemen geologists" took
the opportunity to trumpet a story of their own. In the original report, the
pterodactyl crumbled to dust, conveniently leaving no evidence." (Isaak, 2005)

Lest the reader wonder whether Baugh intended the story to be taken seriously, he remarks, "...having so many other
anomalies, we certainly do not doubt this account..." Evidently by Baugh's reasoning, but since there are many unexplained
things in the world, this fantastic story must be true. Baugh also assures the reader that the story was related in "a verifiable
publication," as if its appearance in an old newspaper assures its accuracy.

Remarkably, Baugh was not the only YEC to publicize this silly story as a credible account.
In an article
in Creation magazine, a publication of Creation Ministries International (CMI), entitled "Are dinosaurs alive today?:
Where Jurassic Park went wrong!" Robert Doolan described how workmen in France "disturbed a huge winged creature...
... while blasting rock for the tunnel" and that "it died soon after."(Doolan, 1993). Later, a disclaimer on the web version of the
article noted Doolan retracted this statement "new evidence shows that it was a hoax" - as if it were not apparent from the
start that a creature could not be living inside a rock, let alone live a while longer after being
blasted out of it. Another YEC website called "Discovery World" still promotes the story as realistic, along with many other
long-ago discredited claims (Anderson, 2017),

Fig. 26. Silver-haired bat photo (left) onto which a bird head was
Photoshopped to foster a pterosaur-like appearance (right).

Even if the story didn't entail the preposterous elements noted above, there were clues that it was a hoax from the start.
Some relate to details omitted from Baugh's version. As noted by cryptozoologist Karl Shuker (1997),
natural history hoaxes were common in English periodicals of the day. This pterodactyl story indicated that a naturalist identified the
creature as "Pterodactylus anas" but there is no pterosaur species with that name. Nor would there be, since
Pterodactylus is a genus of small (mostly crow-sized) pterosaurs (Figure 2), whereas the creature in the story
was reported to have a wingspan of 3.22 meters (about 10 1/2 feet). Moreover, the word "anas" is Latin for duck. The
French word for Duck is canard, which means a hoax or invented story.

Vertebrate paleontologist Darren Naish (1995) remarked on the Dinosaur List
(a web-based paleontology forum) that this pterodactyl-in-a-rock story might have
been inspired by stories of toads found alive in rocks. He notes that
despite such rumors, only one such specimen has been retrieved, and this was "found"
by the same man responsible for the Piltdown hoax. Moreover, there are
quite plausible explanations for toads in rocks; namely that the creature either
crawled in a small hole or crevasse which was not noticed then the rock was
broken open, or that eggs or a tadpole might have been laid or fallen
in a smaller opening, possibly trapping an adult (which might live for
a while from insects passing by). At any rate, there is no evidence that
any animals have been found "alive" in a tightly sealed rock, nor any
reason to expect they would be. For a more detailed discussion of the French
pterosaur hoax see Gross (2009).

Other hoaxes (or parodies)

Apparently living pterosaur hoaxes did not end in the 1800's. A photo and letter submitted by
"Mary Martha More" to the "S8int.com" YEC website (which promotes alleged out-of-place artifacts),
supposedly showed a living baby pterosaur (Fig. 26). The webmasters indicated that they were not
sure if the photo was real, but that they found it difficult to believe someone named both
"Mary" and "Martha" would engage in deception or manipulation. However, they later acknowledged that they
had been 'had,' after one of their viewers (Shane Weaffird) demonstrated that someone had taken
a photo of a Silver-haired bat and photoshopped a superficially pterosaur-like head onto it (Parker, 2004).
I believe the head is actually that of a baby bird, possibly a blackbird fledgling. Reportedly it
was created by a user named "Finbar McCool" around 2004 and posted on the now defunct Cryptozoology.com website
to demonstrate how easily one could photo edit almost anything to make a "cryptid" (Good, 2017).

Another apparent hoax or parody is a YouTube video entitled "Rare Pterodactyl being saved: Amazing video
of a real Teradactyl [sic]" at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf5qBosdgBk
The video shows several people trying to free a long-beaked creature from some type of entanglement on a
muddy lakeshore. The text from "yogwhatup" that accompanies the video states:
"Uploaded on Aug 31, 2009. Update: 9/3/2016. Through digital spectrum analysis we have determined that this
animal is not a bird, including any species of heron. Multiple studies of the video continue as we progress to the identification of this
species. This is groundbreaking as we may actually have the fist true video evidence of a dinosaur living in the 21st century."
Although filmed at night, one can plainly see feathered wings, and by the end of the video, one can see enough to
identify it as a heron, probably a Great Blue Heron. The loud, shrill, almost blood curdling cries of the bird add
an interesting element to the event, and to some may sound "prehistoric." Whether the video was intended as joke or not is
besides the point that large birds are sometimes promoted and/or misidentified as "pterodactyls." .
Several viewers who left comments, agree. One correctly pointed out the irony that since it was a bird, it was a
dinosaur, whereas pterosaurs aren't dinosaurs.

Only a handful of photographs have been presented as possible evidence for modern pterodactyls, and even these are strongly questioned
or rejected by most researchers, including most YECs and cryptozoologists. Some are apparent misidentifications of birds or other creatures,
while others are likely or definite hoaxes. Several dubious historical photos in the latter categories are shown on many cryptozoology
related websites. One (Fig. 27a), shows a young man holding a creature resembling a long-tailed pterosaur. However, the head is unusually tiny,
the wings unusually wide, and no reliable information exists as to the source or age of the photo. Another photo rumored to have been
taken in the 1800's (Fig. 27b) shows a rather bunched-up and floppy looking pterosaur, is widely regarded as fake, as are those in
Figures 27c and 27d. Whoever created Figure 27c seems to have forgotten to edit out part of a deer that was in the original photo; if
you click on the image for a larger view and look near the feet of the third man from the left, you will see the deer's feet.
The "pterosaur" in Fig. 12d seems to have a fairly natural-looking head, but like many cartoon and movie pterosaurs, was given bat-like wings,
unlike any real pterosaurs. Whereas the membrane on a bat wing is stretched across four elongated fingers, a pterosaur wing bore the
membrane on one highly elongated finger,
with three much smaller fingers extending outside the membrane (see Fig. 32a). Figures 27e and 27f follow the same theme
(gun-toting men proudly displaying a pterosaur carcass), and like the others are of uncertain age and origin.

Alleged "Thunderbird" reported in the Tombstone Epitaph

Most of these photos (and a few others) have been proposed by various authors as possible candidates for the long-lost "Thunderbird"
photo rumored to have been originally featured with a 1890 Tombstone Epitaph newspaper article. Many people have a vague
recollection of seeing the photo in various mystery books or popular-press articles, but no one has been able to verify what publication,
let alone produce the actual photo. Some recall a photo showing a giant winged creature stretched in front of a barn, with several
cow-boy type men in front of it. However, what they may have been recalled are later retellings of the Epitaph story which referred to (but
not show) a photo in the original article. For example, an account by Jack Pearl in a 1963 issue of Saga (a men's magazine) stated
that in 1886 the Tombstone Epitaph published a photo of a huge bird with a wingspan of 36 feet, that was shot by two
prospectors, nailed to a wall, and lined up with six men with their arms outstretched. However, it did not show the alleged photo.

Mark Chorvinsky (2000) related in a Strange Magazine article that he obtained a copy of an April 26, 1890 Tombstone Epitaph
article that indeed did contain a story about a "A strange winged monster." It related that it was shot and killed by two ranchers the
Sunday before while returning home from the Huachuca mountains. The creature was described as resembling a huge alligator with
immense wings, lacking any hair or feathers, with an elongated tail, a body of 92 feet long, a beak about eight feet long, and a
wingspan of about 160 feet. By comparison, the largest known fossil pterosaurs had wingspans of 36-40 ft, and a Boeing 737 jet has
a wingspan of about 113 feet. The story ended by saying that "several prominent men" returned to the site in an effort to bring it to town.
However, no photograph accompanied the article, nor has any further reliable information on the case turned up, although other versions of
the story have circulated in various
publications and web sites in recent years. In view of all this, and the incredible reported size of the creature, it seems likely
that the original Epitaph story was simply a tall tale, similar to many others common in newspapers of the day.

The story is so dubious that even Whitcomb has not endorsed it, although it has been promoted as credible by a few YECs, including
Dennis Petersen (2002).
If nothing else, this case seems to further confirms how variable and fallible memories are. Further details on the Tombstone "Thunderbird" saga are related by Hall (2004) and Taylor (2008).

Figure 28. The so-called "HFf" Civil War photograph.
Widely acknowledged as a fake staged for the FreakyLinks TV series.
It appeared on the 1998 Freaky-Links "Freak-o-Pedia" promo web page
Click on image for larger view.

Figure 28b. Model pterosaur used in the HFf photo, now displayed
in Loren Coleman's Cryptozoology Museum in Maine.

Figure 29a. Alleged "Civil War photo" called "Ptp"
Claimed by some to show a real modern Pteranodon
Click on image for larger view

Figure 29e. Portion of graphic by Clifford Paiva showing that
when the left wing is flipped vertically and shown alongside the right
wing, many mirror image features are plainly visible. These features are
too precise and numerous to be those of a real pterosaur, and indicate
that they were replicated with an artificial process (with some
distortion of dimensions).

Figure 29f. Portion of annotated image by Bruce Baryla, who independently
noticed that the wings of the PTP creature show many mirror-image features
that clearly indicate artificial replication. The lower wing images is the
left wing flipped digitally in a horizontal direction. Baryla concluded that
a least one wing was produced by digital replication and distortion of the
other wing.

Figure 30a. Pteranodon longiceps skull
viewed from side and from above. Note the
thin, blade-like crest, contrasting the thick,
tube-like crest in the Ptp photo creature.
Adapted from Witton (2010).

Fig. 31b. Still shot from 1933 King Kong movie. The head
shows some of the same problems as the Ptp photo.

Fig. 32a. Pterosaur, bird, and bat wings compared

Figure 32b. Close-up of eye in Ptp photograph

"Civil War" Photos

Another photo circulating on the web shows a dead Triceratops dinosaur posed with a troop of Civil War soldiers (Fig. 27f),
which may be considered the same genre. Evidently it was originally submitted to the now defunct "Worth1000" website
as Photoshopping contest entry.

Two other so-called "Civil War" photographs have recently been the subject of much discussion on the web.
Both photos show a giant Pteranodon-like
pterosaur carcass posed with several rifle-bearing Civil War soldiers.
One, which Whitcomb calls "HFf" for "Haxan Films fake" (Figure 28), is recognized as a hoax by virtually all
researchers, including Whitcomb. It was created with actors and a large pterosaur model in the late 1990's for the
2000-2001 FOX television "Freaky Links" series, produced by Haxan Films. The photo appeared in a June 1998
promotional web page
for the series, where a quaint back-story was concocted for it (supposedly it was found folded up
in a paranormal book from the 1970's). The page was attributed to "Derek" evidently referring to the fictional
character Derek Barnes in the TV program, who was played by actor Ethan
Embry, a.k.a Ethan Randall (Embry, 1998). At the bottom of the page a link leads to
another FreakyLinks page
(dated Aug. 28, 2000) showing a very similar photo (Figure 29a, with the following comments: "Newsflash, Someone sent me this pic from a
hotmail account (but of course). What do you think?".

The "Ptp" Photo

This second photo, dubbed the "Ptp" photo for "Pterosaur photo" by Whitcomb (Figure 29a) has been rejected
or strongly questioned by most researchers. Indeed, on the same FreakyLinks page where it first appears are
comments from two visitors, describing what they saw as evidence of Photoshopping (discussed further below).
Nevertheless, since January 2017 Whitcomb and his partner Clifford Paiva have declared Ptp to be a real
"Civil War photograph" showing a real modern pterosaur carcass. Whitcomb has further argued that the obviously
fake HFf photo was based on the "real" Ptp photo (Whitcomb, 2017a, 2017b, 2017e).

In early 2017 Whitcomb correctly pointed out that I and others originally confused the two photos, and I thank him for that
clarification. However, his assertion that the Ptp photo is genuine and far older than HFf is entirely unfounded. Indeed, upon close
examination many serious problems are found with the Ptp photo and creature shown in it. Moreover, recently revealed evidence
indicate that both photos were recent (c. 1998-2000) fabrications commissioned by Haxan films, with the Ptp photo created shortly
after the HFf photo (more on that later).

Several websites state that the Ptp photo was reportedly taken near Vicksburg, Miss. in 1864, without citing any specific sources
for this, or the original source of the photo.

Evidently the HFf photo never appeared in any FreakyLinks TV series, despite being featured in the website promo. However, the
Ptp photo appears briefly on a laptop screen in two scenes near the end of the October 2000 FreakyLinks episode entitled
"Coelacanth This", which can be seen in a number of YouTube videos. When it first appears, the "Derek" character claims to
realize that the mysterious creature that has been attacking people in a small town, could relate to old "Thunderbird" legends
and actually be a prehistoric throwback or "Pteranodon" like the one in the photo. He says "everyone's seen the picture." In
the last appearance of the Ptp photo about 41 minutes into the program, next to it on the same screen is what
appears to be an old hand-written letter (Figure 29b). The letter is diffcult to read, but the accompanying
narration implies the letter was found in the Library of Congress, and that it was written in 1865 by Corporal Dan Wilson of
the Indiana Riffle Brigade". I have been unable to verify the existence of any such letter, corporal, or brigade. This is not
surprising, since the FreakyLinks series was meant as fictional, entertainment based program, not a serious documentary.

When discussing the Ptp photo in his writings, Whitcomb never mentions (and perhaps didn't know) that it's first verified appearances were
in the 1998 FreakyLinks promo website and subsequent 2000 TV program. All he states about its history is that he found the photo on some
unnamed "web sources" and that
"many people," including himself, recall seeing it in some unspecified book during the 1950s, 1960s or possibly 1970s. However, no one
recalls exactly what book, and no one has been able to locate it. This too is not surprising, since as will be demonstrated below,
the both the Ptp and HFf photos were created c. 1998 - 2000 for the FreakyLinks series. In view of this, it seems likely that
Whitcomb and others were misremembering one of the similar dubious pterosaur photos from the past, or perhaps developed false memories
from the many web discussions about the infamous and mysteriously untraceable "Thunderbird photo" (or even from the fabricate back-story
presented by Haxan for the HFf photo).

An Underwood and Underwood Photo?

In early June 2017 Whitcomb announced on some of his web pages that he had discovered that the Ptp photo was published by a
company named Underwood and Underwood, hereafter abbreviated as "U & U." (Whitcomb, 2017g). According to Wikipedia, U & U
produced and sold many 3D stereoview photographs in the late 1800's and early 1900's, going out of business sometime in the 1940's.
Whitcomb showed a copy of the photo
in a frame labeled "Underwood and Underwood Publishers", which came from a
Pinterest posting attributed to: "Blubabalu.blogspot.com" (a dead link). The text that appears with the photo states: "A photo of
a strange winged monster shot and killed by soldiers near Vicksburg July 16, 1864." Whitcomb stated that the new U & U finding counts
against the photo being a hoax. However, even if the frame were genuine, it would only narrow down the likely time range for a hoax.
As it is, there is compelling evidence that the photo was never produced or marketed by Underwood and Underwood, and that the Ptp image
was insterted into a digitally modified U & U frame, as documented in Appendix A.

Confirmation that the Ptp Photo is Fake

Of course, one could argue that even though the U & U frame is fraudulent, perhaps the photo in it is not. Unfortunately for
the Ptp proponents, abundant evidence indicates that the original photo is fake as well, and a relatively recent one
at that. Until Jan. 2018, my arguments focused on problems with the Ptp photo itself (and the creature in it), which will be
discussed momentarily. However, on January 9, 2018 A Skeptoid podcast
by Brian Dunning confirms that the Ptp photo
was a recent (c. 2000) creation of Haxan Films. Dunning indicates that Haxan production designer Steve Wolfe hired the digital
FX company "E=MC2 Digital" to create the PTP photo (Dunning, 2018). He confirmed that Civil War reenactors were used in the photo, and that the
artist then "went to work" to produce the rest of the image (implying use of digital manipulation), although details of how the
creature was created were not elaborated, such as whether any pterosaur model were used, or simply a pterosaur image from another
source. Dunning also cleared up the question of why two very similar photos were created by Haxan. He indicated that Haxan had
commissioned the creation of the PTP photo because in the earlier HFf photo, the pterosaur model (the one now in Loren Coleman's
Cryptozoology museum) laid too flat and non-dramatic, and because Haxan had not obtained model releases from all the HFf actors for
use in the FreakyLinks TV show. Dunning noted (as Bruce Baryla and I did earlier) that the PTP photo can be seen on a computer
screen in Episode 4 called "Coelacanth This" of the FreakyLinks TV series. He also indicated that 20th Century Fox and Regency Entertainment
(affiliates of Haxan Films) assert their copyright (2000) to both images, which would not be the case if either were real Civil
War photos. Dunning ends the podcast with the comment "With apologies to the Young Earthers, these aren't the pterosaurs you are
looking for." Although it could be argued that these recent revelations make much of the following analysis (most of which was
written in 2017) largely moot, I will keep it here for now, in order to illustrate that even before the recent Skeptoid podcast revelations,
many other lines of evidence strongly pointed to the fraudulent nature of the Ptp photo.

Ptp Photo Analysis

Overall Problems with the Photo and Background Elements

The background of the PTP photo is problematic in multiple ways. First, it is less distinct and well compared to most Civil War photos, and
shows heavily "frosted" areas, especially the trees in the upper right, suggesting deliberate editing rather than just
artifacts of the photographic process or natural aging (Woolf, 2017). Indeed, combined with the multiple missing chunks,
folds, and badly torn edges, it appears substantially more "distressed" than most surviving Civil War photos with
posed soldiers. This not only suggests that someone altered it (manually or digitally) to look older, but went overboard
in doing so (Heberton, 2017; Richter, 2017). Heberton also suggests that there should be more shadows for the men
than are seen in the photo. However, since it is difficult to determine exactly how far behind the creature they are, and
since the light source seems to be almost directly overhead, this may be a lesser point, and one overshadowed by
stronger arguments against the validity of the photo and creature.

Soon after Whitcomb began promoting the Ptp photo, Cryptozoological researcher Dale Drinnon also pointed out a number of
signs of photo editing, including the lack of fingers grasping the rifle of one of the soldiers, the presence
of edge halos typical of Photoshop manipulation, and signs of blur filter usage (Drinnon, 2012)--all of which
Whitcomb disputes. Some of Drinnon's observations seemed questionable or moot (for example,
alleged missing fingers on one of the soldiers could be due to the man gripping a different part
of the guns). Others, such as the possible use of filters, seem more plausible. Indeed, even
Even Whitcomb acknowledged that it could have been "digitally altered recently" (Whitcomb, 2017, p. 93).
Richter (2017) also noted evidence that the photo was not done on albumen paper
as were real Civil War photos. However, aside from these overall issues with the photo, there are other and more obvious
reasons to question the authenticity of the photo and creature in it.

Problems with the Ptp Creature and Nearby Features

Ironically, Whitcomb's own associate Clifford Paiva (2014) pointed out evidence that strongly indicates that the photo is fraudulent.
He demonstrated that if one digitally flips one wing so that it corresponds with the other, then one can plainly see that many complex
and irregular markings on one wing precisely correspond
to the same markings on the other wing. He comments: "Wing underside markings are identical, left and right" (see Fig. 29e).
This is extremely significant, because no real vertebrate animal would have so many irregular blotches and markings of
precisely the same sizes and shapes, in the same symmetrical positions, on two corresponding limbs (Paiva, 2014). Paiva acknowledges that such
features are "CONSISTENT with the photo possibly being fraudulent (that one wing was used twice)." However, the features are not only
consistent with a fake photo, they constitute clear and compelling evidence that the creature in it is fake.
Bruce Baryla (2017b)
independently noted many of the same features, and agrees that the features are clear evidence that at least one wing was artificially
created, probably with Photoshop (see Fig, 29f). More recently Baryla (2017c) has shown that duplicating one wing with Photoshop can
be easily done.

Recently Paiva added some photos to his web page showing butterflies with largely matching features on opposing wings. This is
misleading, since he is comparing an invertebrate (insect) to a vertebrate. As far as I know such a level of precisely matching features
on opposite limbs is unknown among vertebrate animals.

Instead of fully facing the significance of the mirror image evidence and admitting that the creature is fake, Paiva
suggests that creating a table showing "pros" and "cons" for the photo might somehow offset that evidence.
He states: "The "pros" for example, consisting of the branch in the beak
(not readily noticed); the bending of stubs on the ground, indicating dragging the animal over and into position; the men leaning on
muskets for stabilization for the required 10-15 second exposure; and of course the highly detailed EYE of the animal. The "cons" on
the other hand will certainly include the IDENTICAL wing markings seen below."

However, as will be discussed in more detail later, all these supposed "pros" (and others Whitcomb presents) are either highly dubious
or have multiple alternate explanations, and thus do nothing to counter the powerful negative evidence from the mirror image features and
Skeptoid podcast revelations discussed above, let alone the many other problems with the creature, soldiers, and photo background yet
to be discussed. Obviously, one can find broken saplings in a field for any number of reasons besides a dragged pterosaur corpse, and
soldiers (or reenactors) might lean on their rifles
in any posed photo (no matter what the exposure time), besides the fact that most of the men in the photo are not even leaning on their
rifles, just holding them.Trying to offset compelling evidence of fraud with a handful of dubious or ambiguous features
is like arguing that even though a photo of a supposed Bigfoot clearly shows the zipper and price tag on the back
of an ape costume, we should largely disregard that because there are some broken branches in the photo, and a possible banana peel
on the ground, which could be signs of Bigfoot activity.

In his writings, Whitcomb not only fails to face the implications of the mirrored wing features, he attempts to turn it upside clown, by
claiming that the wings "reveal a general symmetry consistent with a natural biological reference." (Whitcomb, 2017, p. 104)
Unfortunately, as already noted, his own partner Paiva acknowledges that these features are consistent with a fraud. Despite this,
on page 108 Whitcomb shows 5 figures which supposedly refute the mirror-image argument.
However, the first two figures at the top of the page actually further confirm it, since one can readily see the mirror-image
patterns. Whitcomb tries to discount this by showing two highly magnified figures at the bottom of the page, claiming they
show differences in the wing features. However, this exercise is meaningless at best, and deceptive at worse, since Whitcomb fails
to account for the fact that one wing was apparently distorted (stretched) artificially in relation to the other, so that it's
overall dimensions are somewhat different, and accentuated when greatly magnified. This does nothing to counter the evidence
that from lesser magnification or normal viewing, the mirrored features are clear, and entirely incompatible with a
real creature. In short, Paiva and Whitcomb demonstrate severe confirmation bias in failing to face this well-supported
conclusion, while instead focusing on any possible positive evidence, no matter how weak or questionable.

Whitcomb (2017o) states that although the some patterns of the opposing wings are "similar," others are "morphologically
discordant." This too does nothing to help his case. First, as previously noted, many irregular shapes on the wings are not
just "similar" but as Paiva himself acknowledged, they are identical. Second, obviously some parts of the creature
cannot be expected to be mirror images (since, for example, the head and part of the torso are pointed toward one side), which
does nothing to detract from the implications of the precisely matching parts.

He states that evidently neither Baryla nor I
have been able to demonstrate that one wing could be digitally produced from the other. However, as mentioned earlier, Baryla
has indeed demonstrated this (Baryla, 2017c, click here
for the analysis). Moreover, even without such a demonstration, the numerous mirror image features on both wings already demonstrate
conclusively that the creature is a fake. Whitcomb notes that neither he nor Paiva have been able create one wing from
the other with Photoshop, but in view of Baryla's demonstration, all this indicates is that they are less adept than using Photoshop.

Adding to the problems for Whitcomb and his claims, Baryla corresponded with FOX and found that they own the
copyright to the Ptp image (Baryla, 2017c). The only way they could is if they created the photo, since a genuine
civil war photo would have no current copyright attached to it, unless it were heavily altered.

Apparently all of this evidence has finally had some affect on Whitcomb. After months of flatly declaring that the
Ptp photo is entirely genuine, and that no Photoshopping was involved, he now admits "the possibility of
some kind of digital manipulation" (Whitcomb, 2017o). Curiously, he does not say what specific manipulation he is
referring to, or how any such manipulation does not severely undermine the credibility of the photo. Instead, he
launches into a convoluted analogy about buying a car that has no tires on one side, and no engine. His point seems
obscure at best, although the tires do seem to have fallen off his arguments. Perhaps he is suggesting that a real
pterosaur lacked a wing on one side, so someone later Photoshopped it in, but if so, it is unclear how this helps his case.

In an apparent last ditch effort to salvage his claims about the Ptp photo, Whitcomb (2017o) notes that "Paiva has
also found that the brush under the neck and body of the animal
is in front of the animal but the end of the beak is in front of the brush. This is definitely not from a simplistic Photoshop hoax."
Apparently he wants us to believe that unless the entire photo was Photoshopped, and in a "simplistic" way, then the creature
must be real, which of course does not logically follow.

Evidently seeing the writing on the wall, Whitcomb (2017-O) has recently softened his Ptp photo claims. After months of flatly declaring
that the photo shows a real modern pterosaur, he now concedes that he and Paiva do not have a "100% conviction" about that, but
conisder it "very likely" (Whitcomb, 2017o). He also says that in January of 2017 he and Paiva agreed that
there was a "high level of plausibility" that the photo showed a modern pterosaur, even though previously he implied
that they had no doubt about it. Curiously, on the same web page with these equivocations, the caption under the Ptp photo
still states "Verified guine image of a modern pterosaur," while other web pages by Whitcomb continue to make similar
declarations. Yet other pages by Whitcomb continue to assert that the photo was published by Underwood and Underwood Studios,
even though this claim has been well refuted.

While the recent hedging by Whitcomb is interesting, in view of all the evidence presented above, there can be no reasonable
doubt that the photo is fake, since actors were used, and at least one wing and parts of the background were photoshopped.
There is still some room for debate on whether the head and torso of the creature involved a model, or just an inserted or
fabricated pterosaur image. However, these additional questions are largely academic and moot, since no further evidence is
needed to conclude that the creature is fake. However, for those who may need more convincing, I will discuss other serious
problems with the creature and photograph, and rebut specific claims by Whitcomb and Paiva about them.

Since early 2017, Whitcomb argued that the carcass is a real modern pterosaur, and an "apparent Pteranodon."
On his "Living Pterosaurs" blog he often refers to the "Pteranodon photograph" but elsewhere qualifies that
the photo shows a Pteranodon or closely related pterosaur. However, besides the mirror image wing features
discussed above, the creature shows a number of other serious problems. These include significant differences from a real
Pteranodon (points 1-5, illustrated in Figures 3a, 30a and 30b), as well major differences from any real pterosaur
(points 6-11), even though Whitcomb often falsely claims I only address the former.

1. The animal appears to have large teeth, whereas Pteranodons were toothless
2. The upper beak appears thick, downward bent, and blunt at the end, whereas real Pteranodon beaks are slender,
straight or curved upward, and sharp at the end.
3. The lower beak also appears to be shaped unlike that of a real Pteranodon.
4. The posterior crest is essentially parallel to the central line of the beak, whereas real Pteranodon
crests tend to make an upward angle.
5. The head is too small for the size of the body and wings.
6. There appears to be a deep vertical furrow between the beak and eye socket, not found on real pterosaur skulls
7. There are no signs of the three small, clawed digits that should occur on the forearms.
8. The wings have a severely concave shape - what Whitcomb called "canoe-like".
9. The wings are concave in the wrong direction. For an airfoil effect, they should have a somewhat downward curve,
and not a severe upward curve.
10. Both wings bones show severe and odd-looking downward kinks about half-way between body and wing-tips.
11. The wing membranes appear thick, cloth-like, and opaque, unlike the thin, taut, translucent membranes
paleontologists believe pterosaurs had. That no indications of the soldiers' legs are visible
behind the wings accentuates this problem.
12. If it were a real animal carcass, the head would probably have flopped to one side or the other, rather than
be standing upright. Any rigor mortis would probably have occurred with the head lying flat on the ground, not an upright position.
Assertions by Whitcomb and Paiva about a supposed stick in the mouth are weak at best (discussed more later).

David Peters, an active pterosaur researcher, independently noticed many of the same problems,
as well as the following (Peters, 2001):

- The head is too wide.
- The crest is too thick. Real Pteranodon crests are very thin (see Fig. 30a).
- The portion of the wing beyond the wrist (where the free fingers should be) appears too short.
- The wing appears to lack propatagia (the anterior wing membranes between the wrist and shoulder--see Fig. 32a)
Paiva (2014) claims the right wing (on the left of the photo) shows a propatagium, but the bunchy, thick material there does
not resemble propatagia of real pterosaurs, which would be thin and taut.

The shape of the crest is especially aberrant for an alleged "apparent Pteranodon," looking
essentially tube-shaped, rather than blade-like as in large head crests of real Pteranodons (see Figure 30a).
Likewise, the upper beak is far thicker and blunter at the distal end than any known Pteranodon
or similar pterosaur.

As a result of all these and other problems, the overall appearance of the animal is quite unnatural
and phony looking, and far from anatomically "perfect" as Whitcomb and Paiva claim, not just for a pteranodon, but
any realistic pterosaur. Indeed, it resembles some of the earliest Pteranodon depictions based on early fossil finds from
the late 1800's, including various illustrations and models for museums, movies, and toys which widespread during the
early 1900's, including the models shown in the 1925 Lost World film (based
on Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 book by the same name), and the 1933 King Kong movie (Figures 31a, 31b).

Even Whitcomb acknowledged in his earlier writings that the photo and creature in it showed suspicious features, including canoe-like wings,
although he rationalized that they could have appeared that way due to rigor mortis. (Whitcomb, 2017a). However, the wings are curved in the
wrong direction, and any rigor mortis would tend to accentuate that, not reverse it. More importantly, it would not begin to explain the
mirror-image features discussed earlier.

According to Whitcomb, Paiva always accepted the photo as genuine, but that it took him (Whitcomb) a
longer to come to this conclusion. He explains that after realizing that the canoe-like wings were not
actual canoes, and discussing with Paiva various positive "evidences" (apparently overlooking
or disregarding most of the problems noted above), in January 2017 he and Paiva publically declared that
the Ptp photo and creature in it were definitely authentic, and proof of
modern pterosaurs. A number of Whitcomb's web page presented some of the following lines of evidence
in favor of this conclusion, with the rest advanced in his new Modern Pterosaurs book that followed
in April (Whitcomb, 2017b):

1. The shadows are correct for a real soldier's boot on the beak of a real pterosaur.
2. Anatomical features of the head and neck point to it being a real pterosaur.
3. The positions of the soldiers is consistent with a Civil War photograph.
4. Marks on the ground suggest the animal was dragged to a good location for photography.
5. A broken sapling suggests they dragged the animal.
6. The eye shows a reptilian slit-like pupil.
7. The creature has "inverted wings" that a hoaxer would not think to create
8. A branch under the beak was used as a "prop" to hold up the head.

Despite Whitcomb's depicting these as "direct evidence" for the creature's authenticity and
thus proof of living pterosaurs, all are weak at best, involve extensive confirmation bias,
and do nothing to counter the more serious problems related above. In fact, some of his claims
backfire, and provide further evidence that the photo is fake. To be more specific:

Point 1 is irrelevant at best, since even if the shadows were correct, they'd be expected for an actor standing on a model
pterosaur. If only an image of a pterosaur was inserted, such shadows could be readily created by any good photo editor.
As it is, many people have pointed out that the shadows from the boot on the beak do not look quite correct, and that the man himself
should be casting more of a shadow.

Point 2 is ambiguous and ignores the aforementioned problems with the shape and features of the head, beak, and crest.
Whitcomb suggests that an apparent humped shape of the neck is indicative of a real pterosaur
and not something a hoaxer would know about or create. However, I see nothing special about the
neck features that would be unlikely or difficult for an artist to create (either with a model or an image). After all,
if Whitcomb could notice certain pterosaur features, so could a hoaxer.

Points 3 and 4 are also moot, since the positions soldiers could simply be the result of
actors recreating a Civil War photo, while the marks on the ground could be due to a number of different
causes, including dragging or carting a model pterosaur, tripods, or other equipment for a staged photo.

Point 5 is a stretch at best. Even aside from many other possible causes, if real
soldiers could break a tree sapling to clear the way for a real pterosaur carcass, actors and/or their equipment could as well.
One can imagine any number of other causes for a broken sapling in a field, that might have nothing to do with the photo.
The way the sapling is broken also argues against intentional breakage. Whitcomb suggests it was broken to minimizing possible
damage as the pterosaur was dragged into place for photography. The problem is, the tree is broken to the right, which would force
the animal to be dragged 'against the grain' of the branches and twigs, whereas if the soldiers wanted to minimize damage and
resistance, they would have broken it in the opposite direction, or just dragged the animal around the tree.

Point 6 has multiple problems. Even with magnification the details of the eye pupil are not clear (Figure 32b).
Instead of usual reptilian slit shape, which should be widest at the center, it appears to show are darker area
at the top and bottom, and lighter area in the middle (although some of this could be artifacts of shadows
or imperfections of the photo). Even if the eye did have a more typically reptilian eye-slit pupil, it means little, since not all
reptiles have slit-pupil eyes, and it's uncertain what kind of eye pupils Pteranodons had. Whitcomb suggests that
using a slit-like pupil is not something a hoax creator would think of, whereas it actually seems entirely plausible
that someone taking the time to manufacture a model pterosaur might also take the time to check what type of
eyes most reptiles had.

Point 7. Ironically, Whitcomb's argument about the "inverted" or oddly concave wings, is itself up-side down.
Indeed, he seems to use convoluted logic in reasoning that unrealistic looking wings are somehow evidence that the carcass
is real, on the grounds that a model maker would not think to make them look so unnatural.
In his Modern Pterosaurs book he says (p. 92) that when considering the authenticity of the photo, he did some research,
and when he could find "no image of a canoe in North America that looked like those wings" he "moved up to around the
half-way point, the twilight zone between doubting it and believing it." He then says that what "tipped the balance"
(in favor of the photo being genuine) was when he consulted a "canoe expert." In other words, he apparently concluded
that if the unnatural-looking, canoe-like wings were not actual canoes, the animal is probably real. Ironically, on the
next page Whitcomb warns readers to be wary of critics and their "fuzzy thinking."

Later in MP, and in a web page Whitcomb (2017g) says that his analysis shows that the wings are symmetrical, suggesting this supports his
position, since the symmetry is "consistent with a natural biological resemblance." However, as shown earlier, the many irregular blotches
spots are identical on both wings (aside from some distortion of dimensions), strongly indicating that
at least one of the wings was artificially replicated. The most likely explanation, which Baryla (2017c) has
demonstrated is quite feasible, is that one wing was digitially created from the other. One might argue that it could also be possible
that one model wing, or the cloth pattern on it, was physically duplicated for the other, but if so, the point is largely moot, since any artifically
created wing would imply a fake creature. Whitcomb states that "closer examination of the pixels reveals natural differences, consistent
with real wings. This is misleading, since an artificially replicated wing would cause some pixel differences upon great magnification, but
no natural vertebrate limbs would have such precisely matching features when viewed normally.

Whitcomb (2017g) makes the odd claim that close inspection of the wings shows that they do not contain wooden structures,
even though to my knowledge, no one ever claimed they did. Even if wood was used in a physical model or partial model (with
some features digitialy created or duplicated), it would be under the outer coverings, and thus not show in a photograph.

In the same posting Whitcomb asks how 19th century soldiers would know how to fold wings. This again makes the unfounded
assumption that the soldiers are real Civil War soldiers rather than actors, besides the fact that the wings do not look
properly "folded." Indeed, they are kinked in a very unnatural way. Paiva shows several diagrams illustrating the
supposed air-foil shape of the wings, but this argument backfires too, since as mentioned earlier, the wings are concave
in the wrong direction!

Point 8 is subjective at best. Whitcomb (2017, p. 98-99) argues that a "tree branch"
used as a "prop" is visible under the creature's beak (Figure 32c), and that it not only supports the authenticity of the photo, but
shows that it was taken in the 1800's, because the exposure times in those days would have been too long for the man's boot
and creature's head to remain steady
without a prop. However, the feature in question is very indistinct, so it is not even clear that it is a branch. Even if it
is, it appears too small and flimsy to do much good in steadying the large head. Last and most important, if it was used as a
prop, or as something to hold the mouth open (perhaps to show teeth?), it could have been used to do these things with a model
pterosaur rather than a real one.

Propagating "Props"

In another web page dated May 2, 2017, Whitcomb states that Paiva recently found another prop, this one under the right wing
of the animal (Figure 32d). He declares that this is "additional evidence of the authenticity of the Ptp photograph" (Whitcomb, 2017i).
About a week later Whitcomb (2017j) further suggested there that an object under the beak, which he previously called a branch, could be "a
small tree branch or wooden block", while "a pile of small blocks of wood, or something similar, supports the head of the animal".
In all of these cases, the supposed features occur in dark and murky areas of the photo, where it is impossible to reliably
identify anything. Even if the features could be discerned, like so many other alleged "evidences," they could as readily apply to
a pterosaur model as a real animal. Whitcomb claims these "additional findings" repudiate a Photoshop hoax, even though they do not rule out
Photoshopping even in the areas in question, let alone other parts of the photo.

Whitcomb argues that such props would only be needed before about 1870, when advances in photography removed the
need for long exposure times. However, this is another moot point, since the alleged props are ambiguous at best, and the
creature would have been just as inert whether it was a real dead animal or just a model.

Figure 32e. Union infantry soldiers showing oval buckles and centered breast plates.
Left two photos show real soldiers. Painting at right by Chris Collingwood illustrates
a typical Union soldier's uniform and gear. From Smith and Field (2004).

Civil War Soldiers?

Whitcomb often speculates about the soldiers' behaviors, but surprisingly never discusses whether their uniforms and
gear are compatible with real Civil War soldiers. On a web page entitled "Monster" in a Civil War Photograph, Whitcomb makes the
curious statement, "Paiva and I have not made any statements supporting the idea that the photo was taken during the
Civil War." However, this seems contradicted by the very title of the page, and as well many other web pages where
he refers to the "Civil War photograph" or "Civil War Soldiers" (Whitcomb, 2017m, 2017n).
Moreover, Whitcomb sometimes specifically
argues that the Ptp photo shows evidence of being of Civil War age. For example, on a web page entitled "Modern Pterosaur
in a Civil War Photograph" he states that the subjects of the photo are "all in reasonably good focus, a characteristic
of Civil War photography" (Whitcomb, 2017g). On another page he writes, "I want to be objective about this photo that appears to
have come from around the time of the American Civil War..." (Whitcomb, 2017e). Despite these inconsistencies, it
may be understandable that Whitcomb wants to hedge on whether the photo was actually taken during the Civil War, since
there are problems with that proposition.

The general appearance of the soldiers' uniforms in the photo suggests they are enlisted Union infantrymen (not
officers, Calvary, or special unit members). Although Civil War uniforms were not particularly "uniform" due to many
variables in their manufacture, distribution, and other factors, the men in the photo appear exceptionally irregular.
As indicated by Civil War uniform experts (Smith and Field, 2004), the vast majority of infantrymen wore oval
rather than rectangular belt buckles, so it would be highly unusual to see a group of several or more where all
were wearing rectangular buckles (Fig. 32e). The circular breast plates on the diagonal straps used to hold cartridge boxes
are normally centered on the chest or nearly so, but in four of the soldiers the circular plates are far off center,
and two soldiers appear to lack them. One is not even wearing his hat. The pants of real soldiers were usually baggier and (unless freshly
issued) more soiled and worn. Whereas one might rationalize a few of these irregularities, collectively they point to
the men being Civil War actors. Indeed, all of the Civil War and photography experts I consulted agree that the
photo shows multiple indications of being fraudulent, irrespective of the creature in the photo (Heberton, 2017;
Morgenweck, 2017, Richter, 2017; Woolf, 2017; Zeller, 2017). The problem is, if the men are not real Civil War soldiers,
or even if there is serious doubt about that (as even Whitcomb seems to allow), then it further undermines his claim that
the photo and creature are real, unless he wants to argue that a group of Civil War reenactors or reunion attendees
decided to get together with live ammunitoon, and happened to shoot down a giant pterosaur.

Ironically, Paiva's BSM website shows the Ptp photo next to a painting of a typical Union soldier (Fig. 32e, far right) with
the caption: "Consistency of Union Uniforms in 19th Century Pteranodon Photo", even though the painting actually helps illustrate
the above mentioned inconsistencies, including the incorrect belt buckles and misplaced breast plates.

Sidebar Arguments

In his 2017 MP book and on several web pages, Whitcomb makes additional arguments about the Ptp photo that range
from weak and illogical to entirely baseless. When discussing the creature in it (MP, p. 102), Whitcomb lists only three options:
1) It was real animal, 2) It was a physical model, and 3) It was a digital construction. These greatly oversimplify the possibilities.
Whitcomb seems to only consider a hoax staged with a large pterosaur model in Civil War times, neglecting a more recent hoax,
combinations of options 2 and 3, or the partial use of a model, and one or more inserted images or partial images. To be fair and
thorough, he should have fully considered all of these possibilities and others outlined in Appendix B.

Whitcomb suggests that if the photo were "any kind of hoax," the soldiers would be placed in front of the creature to cover
weaknesses in "monster". However, he ignores the possibility of an inserted image rather than a model, and that even
if a model were used, it wouldly make sense to take the time to create it and then not show it off, as long as it was
somewhat realistic. He can't logically claim it was a poorly made model, since he argues that the creature is not only
realistic, but real. Moreover, the HFf photo thoroughly refutes his argument here, since he agrees that it is a hoax using
a pterosaur model, and it's even less realistic than the Ptp creature (see Fig. 29b), yet the soldiers are positioned in
the same way as in the Ptp photo.

Whitcomb argues that the Ptp creature is too realistic for soldiers to have built in the
1800's, and asks, how they would know how to build a model that could "stand up to rigorous examination by two 21st century scientists"
(2017g). Here Whitcomb is making at least three unfounded assumptions: that the soldiers are real Civil War
soldiers, that creature is an anatomically correct pterosaur, and that he and Paiva are well qualified to evaluate
pterosaur anatomy. By all evidence none of these is true.

Whitcomb (2017g) asks "Why would a group of soldiers, in or around the late 19th
century, construct a realistic model of a pterosaur in the bushes and then drag it into a clearing to be photographed?"
Besides again unnecessarily assuming a 19th century time frame, this does not make sense from a logistics standpoint.
Even if a large model were made, it would have been more logical to build it inside a covered facility, where materials, tools,
protection from wind and rain, and other amenities would be more available and controllable, that to try to
build it in an open field. But again, there is no reason to assume a large model was needed, since the creature could be
based on a small model image enlarged for the photo, or simply a pterosaur picture merged into the photo.

Whitcomb states that Paiva also found "more cleared brush in front of the animal. This was probably done to show a clearer
view for the camera." However, as with the sapling claims discussed earlier, there are many possible reasons for cleared
brush in a field, including preparation for a staged photo.

Whitcomb also reports that Paiva found "potential evidence for blood flow in at least two areas:
under the neck and more to the right." However, this is just another example of Witcomb's and Paiva's overactive imaginations
and confirmation bias, since the areas of the photo in question are very dark and blurry, showing no distinct features. Paiva's
states that "indications that muscle structure can be seen in the neck," but all one can see are
some surface folds, which are just as compatible with a model pterosaur or inserted image of a pterosaur.

Whitcomb (2017e) also notes that he and Paiva examined the sizes of the soldiers' belt buckles and found that the results
confirmed that the man in the foreground was closer to the camera, declaring this "direct evidence for the authenticity of
the pterodactyl photograph." However, the same results would be expected for a photo of Civil War actors.
Ironically, while focusing on moot aspects of belt buckles, they evidently failed to notice (or to report) the problematic
shape of the buckles and other serious problems noted above concerning the soldiers, creature, and photo background.

Whitcomb argues that the HFf and Ptp photos show too many common features for the similarities to be
coincidental, and that since the Ptp photo is older, the HFf photo must be an imitation based on the "real" Ptp photo.
I agree that the two photos show too many similarities to be coincidental. However, Whitcomb has provided no convincing evidence
that the Ptp photo is older than the HFf photo, and evidently did not consider that one fake could be based on another fake,
which turns out to be the case. Again, by all evidence both photos were fabricated under the direction of Haxan Films between
1998 and 2000, with the Ptp photo being created shortly after the HFf photo. Evidently both photos used Civil War reenactors and digital
editing, with at least the HFF photo also involving a pterosaur model.

Whitcomb's frequent claim that the PTP photo was seen by himself and others in some unspecified book
in the 1950's, 60's, or 70's is based on nothing more than vague recollections. As noted earlier, they probably
misremembered one or more of the similar fake photos discussed earlier. Attempting to turn doubtful
recollections into meaningful evidence, Whitcomb states: "...we don't have to prove it 100%..."
Since this is like a civil trial, my side has no obligation to provide a copy of that book before the jury gives some degree of credence
as existing before Photoshop... we have three witnesses who have testified that it is quite likely that old. What evidence does the
opposing side have that Ptp is not old?"
These comments suggest that Whitcomb has some serious misunderstandings about science and how it operates.
Science is not a civil trial, nor does it deal in absolute "proof." However, as mentioned earlier, when extraordinary claims are made,
the burden rests squarely on the claimants to fully support their assertions, not on others to prove them wrong.
In this case, skeptics do not have to prove that pterosaurs no longer exist or that the Ptp photo is fake (although the great
weight of evidence supports those conclusions), or demonstrate exactly how
and when the photo was made (although we now have good evidence that it was a recent fabrication). In contrast, those
claiming that multiple species of pterosaurs still exist, and that Ptp photo shows a real pterosaur carcass from the 19th century, do
have to rigorously demonstrate their assertions, and to rule out all other possibilities. So far they have not come close to doing either,
while neglecting or dismissing extensive and compelling contrary evidence.

Ptp Photo Conclusions

Whereas Whitcomb and Paiva argue that the both the photo and creature in it are real, the totality of evidence strongly
indicates that neither are. Even before the Jan. 2018 Skeptoid
podcast confired that the Ptp and FFf photos were both Haxan Films creations, the Ptp photo showed abundant evidence of
being a fairly recent photo involving an unrealistic pterosaur and digital manipulation.
Although some details of the photo and creature creation are still uncertain, it is clear that Civil War reenactors were used,
and that at least one wing was artificially (and probably digitally) replicated. The head and torso (and possibly one wing)
could be a model, although part or all of the creature could be a digital creation or inserted image.
In short, the Ptp photo is just one in a long line of fake photos showing a large pterosaur carcass posed with armed men.

News Blackout?

Aside from all of these issues, one might ask how populations of gigantic flying reptiles managed to exist without
being very frequently seen, reported, and recorded by many people of the day (or since), or how a band of solders
managed to shoot one down with muskets, and yet it was not reported in any newspapers or other publications of the day.

Whitcomb attempts to explain away the last problem by suggesting such newspapers were only interested in war related stories.
However, this is readily dispelled by the fact that many surviving copies of such papers, which are available on websites
such as
"Accessible Archives" , show that many other topics were also commonly covered, including sports, fashion, arts and leisure,
commercial matters, and social events (UT, 2017). All such stories would be far more mundane than the downing of a giant
flying monster. Indeed, there is little doubt that such a stupendous
event would have been considered very newsworthy, as well as become the subject of much subsequent discussion and scientific
interest (unless the soldiers buried it immediately, and never said a word about it, which seems highly unlikely). Yet there is
no evidence that it was ever mentioned in any publication of the day, popular or scientific. Nor is there any information on what
became of the carcass. That too seems telling, since many museums, schools, natural history buffs and collectors, etc.,
would surely have clamored to obtain such an astounding specimen, and been glad to pay handsomely for it.

Fig. 33a. John Whitcomb's 2017 Modern Pterosaurs book

Flooding the Web with "Living Pterosaur" Promos

Despite all of the above problems, in early 2017 Whitcomb launched a major publicity campaign focusing
largely on it - flooding the Internet with numerous articles, blog entries, and "press releases" declaring it to be
proof of modern pterosaurs. This was on top of his scores of pervious sites promoting "living pterosaurs." Indeed, it
appears that Whitcomb has over two dozen web domains registered just for these purposes, and within them and other
sites (by his own count) over 1000 articles and blog entries. While he seems to regard this as a positive achievement,
it is academically questionable at best, since many of the articles rehash or overlap the same material, and the
effect is that when someone does a web search on the topic of living pterosaurs (or even pterosaurs), his writings
dominate the results. This makes it difficult to readily find and compare other writings or rebuttals on the issue,
or to keep track of any new or altered claims Whitcomb makes. It also makes it difficult for Whitcomb to make
necessary corrections when warranted. For example, as of Feb. 2018, some of his web pages still complain that I have not
addressed many of his "best evidence," such as Wooten's and Hodgkinson's sightings, even though I had done so many months
earlier. These problems are exacerbated by the fact that when Whitcomb criticizes me and other
skeptics, he seldom properly cites or links to our writings.

Also of concern is the fact that in many of the "press releases" and blogs Whitcomb often
refer to himself in the third person, and/or positively reviews his own articles and books as
if they were independent, authoritative sources. In the past he sometimes
used the pen names "Nathan Coleman" and "Norman Huntington" while doing this. Even though he no longer
does, he still often promotes his views and writings in the third person, and sometimes leaves his own
positive remarks or links to his other writings or books in the Comments section of a blog, then closes the comments.

In April 2017 Whitcomb published his little book (Whitcomb, 2017a) entitled Modern Pterosaurs:
Human encounters with living "pterodactyls" (Fig. 33a), which focuses heavily on the Ptp photo. Perhaps as a sign of
being rushed into print, MP contains no index or references. When he criticizes skeptical scientists and
their writings (including mine) in it, he does not mention names (just initials or acronyms) or include proper
academic citations. Calling my critique "bampp" (big anti-modern-pterosaur page) he advises that
this skeptic "needs to get out of his imagination and open his eyes..." As he does on some of his web
site, he complains that I wrote "31 paragraphs" criticizing his views but did not adequately addressing some
of best evidence. I trust this expanded version does that. However, no matter how much I or others write, he and
other "living pterosaur" proponents can always point to new sightings as better evidence, which is why
scientists have no obligation to address any such claims, unless they are backed up by hard evidence, and
the Ptp photo is hardly that.

Among the likely reasons Whitcomb and Paiva latched strongly onto the Ptp photo as proof of modern
pterosaurs, besides YEC-driven motivations and confirmation bias, is that they evidently neglected to consult with any
paleontologists or Civil War photo experts while evaluating the photo. Whitcomb often emphasizes that
a "scientist" (Paiva) has confirmed the authenticity of the photo and anatomic correctness of the creature in it.
However, as far as I know neither Paiva nor Whitcomb have any significant training, experience, or expertise in paleontology,
let alone fossil pterosaurs. That does not necessarily prevent them from doing good research. It does mean that before
sticking their necks out, it would have behooved them to seek input from others with expertise in these areas.
.
Even if they did not trust input from any mainstream scientists, they could
still have consulted with one of the few YEC paleontologists, such as Kurt Wise.

It is also normal scientific protocol to publish a scientific
paper before launching any publicity campaign, but evidently this too was not done in this case.
What Whitcomb calls two previous "peer reviewed" papers (Whitcomb, 2009) did not even address the Ptp photo, and
appeared in the Creation Research Society Quarterly, a staunchly YEC publication that apparently does
not have the level of rigorous peer review of most mainstream scientific journals.

Like his other books promoting modern pterosaurs, Whitcomb uses the label "Non-Fiction" on the cover of MP.
Of course, legitimate non-fiction books do not normally need such a label, and in few of all the evidence
discussed above, it's clearly an inaccurate one.

Few Embrace "Modern Pterosaurs"

How much influence Whitcomb's promotions have had on the public and most YECs is difficult to say,
partly because his dozens of largely redundant web sites and articles dominate search
engine results on the topic of "living pterosaurs." However, many comments on cryptozoology
sites have been skeptical or negative. Renown American cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, who previously addressed
both the Ptp and HFf photos in a 2007 Cryptomundo website column, rejected both, and as far as I
know, no other leading cryptozoology researchers endorse either of them. This further reinforces the
hollowness of Whitcomb's constant complaints about scientists being blinded by "dogmas of extinction,"
since most cryptozoologists not only have no such dogmas, but much of what they do involves searching
for creatures that others think are likely extinct.

Nor do any major YEC groups such as ICR, AIG, or CMI have "extinction dogmas" or a-priori biases against living
pterosaur claims (any biases would be in favor of them). However, as far as I know, none have clearly endorsed the idea
of modern pterosaurs, let alone Whitcomb's claims about the Ptp photo. A 2017 book How Do Dinosaurs Fit in the Bible
discusses pterosaurs, but makes no mention of allegedly living ones (Biddle, 2017). Moreover, at least
one of Whitcomb's fellow LP promoters, David Woetzel, does not consider the Ptp photo convincing (Woetzel, 2017).

Although it pre-dates the PTP photo flap, an excellent summary of "living pterosaur" claims is provided by
Darren Naish in his book Hunting Monsters: Cryptozoology and the Reality Behind the Myths (Naish, 2017).
PZ Meyers wrote an especially frank and hard-hitting critique of Whitcomb's claims on the Pharylingula Blog,
with emphasis on his ethically questionable promotional methods.

Recently Whitcomb has attempted to rebut my critique by posting a variety of criticisms on a
number of his web pages, including claims that my review is largely a product of "confirmation bias" and "wishful
thinking," and that I deliberately misrepresented some of his views and statements. However, none of these accusations hold up
to careful examination, as addressed further in Appendix D. I invite readers to carefully compare our respective
writings and judge for themselves their relative merits, and whether Whitcomb's criticisms better apply to mine or his own.

Other Reasons to Doubt "Living Pterosaurs"

Figure 33b. Photo of bats flying in moonlight, from C. Paiva's blog

Glaring Lack of photos

Whitcomb and other "living pterosaur" advocates try to downplay the paucity of photographic and
physical evidence by arguing that most if not all modern pterosaurs are nocturnal (active
at night) (Whitcomb, 2017a, p. 10). However, this does little to solve the problem, since many supposed sightings
occur during the day, and even at night some photos would be possible on moonlit nights (especially over lakes) or
artificially lit areas, where they would hardly escape regular notice and at least occasionally be photographed or otherwise
well documented. After all, this is often done with bats, owls and other nocturnal animals. Indeed, Clifford Paiva
shows a photo on his blog (Paiva, 2014) of flying bats illuminated by moonlight (Figure 33b), without explaining why no
such clear photos pterosaurs have been produced even if they are largely nocturnal.
The lack of good photos becomes even harder to explain in view of the fact that countless thousands of bird watchers
and biologists, regularly study nocturnal life both on the ground, and in the sky or trees, while many star-gazers,
astronomers, and others regularly scan the night sky. Many members of all these groups regularly operate cameras
capable of taking nighttime photos that could capture noctural pterosaurs if they existed.
Likewise, thousands of satellites, planes, and automated ground-level cameras, are busy every day taking
millions of hi-resolution photos for commercial and government use. Collectively they cover much of the land surface of the Earth,
and often re-photograph the same area on a fairly regular basis (weeks to years, depending on the area), often
capturing recognizable photos of humans and animals. Yet again, not one has ever captured a modern pterosaur.

Years ago I suggested to Dave Woetzel that he give PNG locals cameras in order to increase changes of recording any
pterosaurs there. Recently he informed me that he had done this, but that so far it has not been productive.
Likewise, Whitcomb reportedly gave some cameras to locals, also with no significant results, and in 2013 set up a
game camera in his backyard in Lakewood, CA, in an attempt to film a pterosaur after one was "sighted" nearby,
again with no results (Whitcomb, 2014, p. 320). The lack of any photos from PNG seems especially telling, since Whitcomb
implies that Ropen sightings are quite common by locals there. On his "Woetzel-Guessman Expedition" web page he notes that one of the
locals sees Ropens flying over Opai "about once per month."

In his 2017 book (p. 8) Whitcomb suggests that a major reason for the shortage of good pterosaur photos is that people often
forget that they have a camera or camera-ready cell phone with them. However, many people do remember, and the satellites and
other automated cameras don't have to. Moreover, in regards to PNG sightings, it seems implausible that the locals would
constantly "forget" to take pictures of the creatures they supposedly see on a regular basis, and which they know Whitcomb
and others are dying to get clear evidence of.
Whitcomb also suggests (p. 10) that in the U.S. many sightings are from moving cars, which would make
photography difficult. However, most sightings are not from cars, and those that are would tend to be inherently
less reliable, since the witnesses would often need to deal with the movement of both the car and the creature.

While on the subject of photographs, it should ne noted that even though the handful of putative photographs
of living pterosaurs offered so far are all likely fakes, in view of ever-improving technologies, from advanced CGI
and photo editing capabilities, to sophisticated model making and staging capabilities,
it may become increasingly difficult to determine whether a particular photo or video is authentic, or exactly how it was made. In
cases of alleged cryptids and other extraordinary claims, this will make the need for compelling physical evidence
all the more vital. Some have claimed that certain historic artworks or literature may help their case in this regard,
but as will shown, the examples often proposed are typically very subjective and questionable.

No Place to Hide

The nocturnal hypothesis also begs the question of where most pterosaurs go during the day. Whitcomb suggests that in PNG
they dwell in high cliff overhangs which the locals call "caves" (Whitcomb, 2017a, p. 22). However, this explanation
doesn't fly for heavily populated areas, especially most U.S. states, which either don't have high cliffs, or where any
caves large enough to hide large pterosaurs have been well explored by spelunkers, naturalists, and scientists.
In a web page entitled, "Can Ropens Hide in Caves" Whitcomb (2014b) argues that smaller ones could bunk
in "holes" in rock faces. He states that we should remember that "not all of those featherless flying creatures are
gigantic... A small hideaway room on the side of a cliff is better than being homeless.." However, Whitcomb himself
claims that most living pterosaurs range from large to huge, and he has to account for where they all hide during the day,
not just the smaller ones. He declares, "potential spots could number in the billions,
if ropens were very careful about concealing nests and they were built both inside and outside caves." However, no matter
how "careful" they were, it is simply not credible to imagine that entire populations of giant pterosaurs (and populations
would be needed to sustain the species) could build nests (presumably large ones) even "outside" caves, without any of
the animals or their nests, eggs, and hatchlings ever being seen or documented.

Whitcomb suggests that pterosaurs may not breed in all areas where they are seen, and may sometimes fly large distances,
even over entire continents and oceans. However, this only moves the problem from one area to another, plus creates new
problems. If giant pterosaurs are doing such things, it is odd that they are never detected by pilots, satellite cameras, or
radar. Proposing that they fly low to the ground would not help, since it would exacerbate the problem of why more people
do not report and photograph them, and even night flights of large pterosaurs would be detected by radar. After all,
some are claimed to be the size of small planes.

Millions of Pterosaur Encounters?

Whitcomb's assertions also involve a "Catch-22". He suggests there are too many sightings for all to be misidentifications
of hoaxes, yet the more sightings there are, the harder it is to explain the lack of good photos and physical evidence.
Indeed, even if the Ptp photo
were legitimate, and even some of his sightings are, he seems to have a serious problem explaining why no other credible
photo has surfaced in over 150 years, and why no credible photos showing a living pterosaur has ever been produced,
let alone any tracks, carcasses or bones.

Worsening the problem even further, Whitcomb makes the astounding claim: "During the past 50 years, over the entire planet,
over 7,000,000 persons have encountered a living pterosaur at night" (Whitcomb, 2014, p. 306).
Lest one wonder if this could be a misprint, on the next page he spells it out, writing:
"Seven million eyewitnesses of live pterosaurs!" He bases this on some fuzzy math and his assumption that far more people
have seen living pterosaurs than report them. He even states on the next page that his estimate was "conservative", although
elsewhere on the same page he states (perhaps forgetting his earlier estimate, or perhaps making a typo this time), that
"about 70,000 persons worldwide" have seen pterosaurs. That's only 1% of his first estimate, but orders of
magnitude greater than the "less than 200 credible reports" he reportedly collected, and 200 more than the number I and most
scientists consider reliable reports of living pterosaurs. In the Comments section of a YouTube video posted by Whitcomb earlier
this year (2017d), he offers yet another estimate of the number of people who have encountered some kind of living pterosaur,
announcing that based on his "investigation into probabilities involved in worldwide eyewitness sightings" his "startling conclusion"
is that the number is "between 7 million and 128 million." I'm not sure "startling" is the only or best adjective that applies
here, but I'll leave it at that.

Are "Ropens" Immortal?

The above considerations raise another question: do these creatures never die? After all, it's not uncommon for
people to stumble upon recently deceased birds or other small animals, even though they are more easily and quickly scavenged
than a giant pterosaur would be. On top of that, imagine the stench a large pterosaur corpse would produce. Would that not
draw anyone's attention? Whitcomb and
others can argue that they live and usually die in some high or remote places, but as with the lack of photos, nests, etc.
this seems hard to reconcile with the alleged encounters even in heavily developed regions, even ones with no mountains or
unexplored caves. Whitcomb proposes that they routinely fly long distances, but why would they leave a safer area to come into
less safe ones? After all, he himself implies they are essentially permanent residents of places like Marfa, Texas, and even have
massive mating rituals there. In MP (p. 98), Whitcomb implies that the Ptp creature died a natural death in the woods, but even
if it was shot down, it begs the question of why either never happened again, despite the population greatly increasing and
weapons becoming much better. None of it adds up.

Alleged Pterosaurs on Artifacts and Ancient Artwork

A petroglyph at Black Dragon Canyon, Utah (Fig. 34), has been suggested by Dennis Swift (1997) and other YECs to depict
a pterosaur seen by Native Americans. However, without selective highlighting the image is ambiguous at best, and is
interpreted by archaeologists to not even be a flying creature (Senter, 2012). Even if it were, there is nothing about it to
favor a bird over a pterosaur, and the supposed wings are very odd and unsymmetrical, and don't look much like bird
or pterosar wings. Other pictographs or petroglyphs alleged to show pterosaurs or dinosaurs are similarly doubtful (Kuban, 2013).

Jonathan Whitcomb, Carl Baugh, Don Patton, and Dennis Swift have claimed that pterosaurs and dinosaurs are depicted in
ancient figurines from Acambaro (Figure 35a), Mexico and on ancient pottery found near Ica, Peru (Figure 35b), often referred
to as the "Ica
Stones" (Whitcomb, 2015b).

Fig. 35a. Acambaro figurine, interpreted by Whitcomb
as a "Crude depiction of a long-tailed pterosaur."

Fig. 35b. Ica stone showing man riding a supposed pterosaur

Most of the Acambaro figures are interpretive at best; however, some of the Ica images clearly depict
dinosaur and pterosaur like animals. Some even show humans riding on the backs of dinosaurs and pterosaurs (Figure 35).
Evidently Baugh, Patton, and associates accept these as convincing evidence of humans living with these prehistoric
reptiles, without clarifying whether they actually believe men actually rode around on them. In any
case, both sets of artifacts are widely regarded by mainstream scientists as likely forgeries.
In an article of the
North Texas Skeptics newsletter, John Blanton writes:

"Dating both the Acambaro figurines and Ica stones has proved inconclusive.
Unfortunately, both the stones and figurines have been removed from their
original settings, making reliable dating difficult, if not impossible.
In the Peruvian case, the curator and discoverer of the artifacts, Javier
Cabrera, a medical doctor, refuses to reveal the location of a cave where he
allegedly found the stones, leading archeologist Neil Steede, who investigates
both cases on Cote's Jurassic Art, to question the doctor's story. So, we come
to the end of the tale, and we still don't know what's behind the Acambaro
dinosaurs."(Blanton, 1999)

The Ica stone craze began in 1996 with Dr. Javier Cabrera Darquea, a
Peruvian physician who allegedly abandoned a career in medicine in
Lima to open up the Museo de Piedras Grabadas (Engraved Stones Museum)
in Ica. There he displays his collection of several thousand stones.
Dr. Cabrera claims that a farmer found the stones in a cave. The farmer
was arrested for selling the stones to tourists. He told the police that
he didn't really find them in a cave, but that he made them himself.
Other modern Ica artists, however, continue to carve stones and sell
forgeries of the farmer's forgeries. In 1975, Basilio Uchuya and Irma
Gutierrez de Aparcana claimed that they sold Cabrera stones they'd carved
themselves and that they'd chosen their subject matter by copying from
"comic books, school books, and magazines" (Polidoro 2002b).

Another inconsistency regarding the Ica stones concerns the question of why
some of the stones supposedly show images of surgery, telescopes, powered flight, and other
sophisticated technologies, yet no artifacts demonstrating or even hinting at such things
exist outside the Ica Stones themselves. That raises the related question of how such a
supposedly advanced civilization had no other means of recording such activities or
communicating in general other than scrawling cartoon-like images on rocks.
Further evidence against the reliability of the Ica stones is discussed by Matthews (2007) and
Meyers (2005).

Thus, unless the proponents of the Ica Stones and Acambaro figurines provide
better evidence of their authenticity, they seem dubious at best. Indeed,
even most creationist and cryptozoologist leaders have refrained from
endorsing such artifacts as credible evidence that humans coexisted with dinosaurs or pterosaurs.

Alleged Physical Remains

As far as I know, the only case of alleged physical (bodily) remains of a modern
pterosaur involves a photo of a supposed "pterodactyl skull from Africa" shown in several photographs
on the now defunct "Pterodactyl Society" website. However, no details were provided as to precisely where,
when, or by whom it was found, or who identified it. As it turns out, the specimen was not a skull at all.
According to skeletal experts Joe Williams and Jay Villemarette of the World of Nature Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma, the photo showed
an ostrich pelvis. To his credit, the webmaster, who went by "Harry O." removed the photo in question
(which I neglected to save) after being notified of the mistaken identification. Of course, it would have been
better if Harry had researched the identity of the skull before displaying the photos.

Figure 36. Painting of St. Michael
and the "dragon," by unknown Spanish
painter, c. 1405, showing little
resemblance to a pterosaur or dinosaur

A website by "Richard Paley" Objectiveministries
still refers to the skull as an example of modern pterosaur remains. Whitcomb and others believe that Paley's site is
a hoax or parody, and it probably is. Unfortunately that may not be obvious to most visitors, especially since many
of its claims do not seem appreciably different or more extreme than those at other YEC and living-pterosaur advocating sites.

Dragon Legends

Whitcomb, Woetzel, Baugh, and other living pterosaur advocates join many other YECs in suggesting that dragon legends from
Europe and China may help support the idea of living or recently living pterosaurs and dinosaurs. Whitcomb even suggests
that "fire-breathing" dragons may refer to bioluminescent pterosaurs. However, besides the latter being quite a stretch,
simpler explanations exist for dragon legends, including the tendencies of many cultures to combine features of various
modern animals such as snakes, and lizards (including large monitor lizards such as "Komodo Dragons", and exotic forms like
Dracos or "flying lizards") into more fantastic mythical forms (Kuban, 2013).

Whitcomb notes that both Celtic "dragons" and pterosaurs often show featherless wings and long tails with diamond shapes at the
end. However, he ignores multiple major differences. For example, most dragon depictions show scales instead of hair, bat-like
(strutted) wings rather than pterosaur-like wings, four legs instead of two, multiple horns, and other features not found on any
known pterosaurs (Whitcomb, 2011f).
If dinosaurs or pterosaurs were involved in these legends at all, it may be that some were
inspired or influenced by the occasional finding of fossil remains. In other words, in a sense Whitcomb and associates may
be right that dragon myths may relate to dinosaurs or pterosaurs, but fossil ones rather than living ones.
Indeed, some shops in China still sell dinosaur teeth, claws, and bones as "dragon" remains.

David Woetzel has a web page entitled "Dragons in History" promoting the idea that dragon legends support the idea of modern
dinosaurs and pterosaurs (Woetzel, 1999-2017). He
relates several dragon legends, but in none of them does the described creature bear more than a vague similarity to
fossil dinosaurs or pterosaurs. Moreover, to imagine that real dragons, pterosaurs, or dinosaurs were terrorizing local
European or Asian populations only begs the question of why no historic artworks or literature from either region clearly
describe and depict them realistically (further discussed below), and why no carcasses or skeletons
of the "slain" beasts were preserved (all known pterosaur remains are fossils and tracks in Mesozoic rock strata).

By YEC reasoning and the type of evidence accepted, one could as easily argue that in past centuries people regularly saw
griffins, Cyclopes, unicorns, sphinxes, and mermaids. More likely, these mythical creatures were also based on imaginative
combinations of
various living animals and/or fossil remains (Kuban, 2013). For example, the Cyclops legend is believed to relate to the
finding of mammoth and mastodon skulls, whose merged eye sockets were probably interpreted to house one giant eye.

Suggestions by a few YECs that a Bible verse referring to St. Michael slaying the dragon (Figure 36), or depictions of
St. George slaying a dragon, are based on actual slayings or real "dragons", dinosaurs or pterosaurs, are as
misguided and unfounded theologically as they are scientifically. Depictions of St. George slaying the dragon are
based on nothing more than fanciful and often contradictory stories from Medieval folklore. One Bible verse mentions St.
Michael slaying a dragon (Revelation 9:7); however, the very next verse clarifies that the dragon is "the old serpent
called Satan." While some old paintings depict St. Michael slaying an actual dragon (Figure. 36) others show him slaying
the devil as a winged humanoid. None closely resemble dinosaurs or pterosaurs. Other Biblical passages offered by some
as evidene of "living pterosaurs" are discussed below.

Figure 38. Seals from Israel imagined
by John Goertzen to show pterosaurs
attacking an ibex

Alleged Biblical Evidence

Baugh, Whitcomb, Woetzel, and a few others YE advocates have claimed that the Bible supports the idea of recent
pterodactyls (Woetzel, 2006). Among the more commonly quoted Bible versus are Isa. 14:29 and Isa. 30:6. These passages speak
of a fiery serpent and fiery flying serpent respectively. Whitcomb even created a separate web page and domain name
"fireserpent.com" to promote his view that these passages refer to bioluminescent pterosaurs (Whitcomb, 2014b).
However, the term "fiery" can also be translated as "deadly" or "burning", as it is in some Old Testament and Septuagint translations.
Moreover, the Hebrew term for "serpent" in the Bible generally refers to lizards or snakes. Most scholars believe
that the verses in question refer to one or more poisonous snakes in the middle east, such as the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje),
which often has a copper to reddish color. Another is the brown to pink colored carpet or saw-scaled viper, whose
toxin causes internal bleeding and intensely painful, burning sensations. They spring swiftly and can even become airborne
while striking. Sand Vipers, which have reddish colors, also cause bleeding, severe pain, and tissue damage. The Companion Bible
marginal note says: "These fiery serpents may have been so-called for the burning sensation of their bite, or from their vivid,
fiery color." "Fiery" may, alternatively, refer to the color of the inflammation (Ashley 1993). Thus, even though there is some
uncertainty about the exact meaning of the passages in question, any of the possible interpretations are more plausible than
assuming they refer to glowing pterosaurs.

Creationist John Goertzen has a website entitled "Revolution Against Evolution"
advocating the idea of living and recent pterosaurs, suggesting that the Bible and
other ancient writings refer to such creatures. However, all of the
literature passages cited seem to require very speculative interpretations to
support a pterosaur reference. For example, Goertzen states: "The spiritual and
symbolic knowledge of pterosaurs is found primarily from the teaching of the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself when speaking
with Nicodemus (Jn. 3:14)." However, John 3:14 simply refers to Moses lifting
up a "serpent" which most scholars assume is a snake, not a pterosaur.

Goertzen declares that the scientific basis for recent pterosaurs
is "established by unmistakable artifacts that depict morphological details,"
including various Egyptian artifacts and seals. However, none of those he shows
depict clear pterosaur images. In fact, some appear to show feathered wings (Fig. 37)
and thus resemble birds more than pterosaurs, whereas others look more like generalized
animals than pterosaurs (Fig. 38). Ironically, the lack of clear pterosaur
images in Egyptian art actually undermine his case. Many animals are
depicted with significant detail in various Egyptian artworks--in some cases allowing
individual species to be identified--but none show clear pterosaurs.

On his website Goertzen also promotes various "living pterosaur" claims from other YECs,
and notes that "Sightings of pterodactyls in Mexico are so frequent that creationist
missionary John Pendleton is setting up a trap on a rooftop to see if they can be photographed" (Goertzen, 215)
In a video interview by Stephen Meyers (2013), Pendleton says that he set up three motion detecting cameras.
As they say, "Good luck with that."

Conclusions

There is no reliable evidence of living or recently living pterosaurs. The few researchers who argue
otherwise appear to be largely motivated by anti-evolutionary views, and primarily rely on unverifiable
anecdotal "sightings," dubious or ambiguous artifacts and artworks, and questionably interpreted Bible passages.
Woefully lacking are any compelling
photographs or physical remains. The relatively few photos depicting supposed modern pterosaurs range from
highly dubious to demonstrably fraudulent. None are not considered convincing even by most YECs and cryptozoologists.
The single photo (Ptp) promoted as genuine and compelling by Whitcomb and Pavia does not stand up to close scutiny, and
has been revealed to be a recent (c. 2000) fabrication comissioned by an entertainment film company.
If populations of large pterosaurs really did inhabit several countries and
many U.S. states as some claim, we would expect far more clear and convincing photos and forensic
evidence. Despite these and other reasons to be highly skeptical of "living pterosaurs", if they were
someday verified, it would be a wonderful scientific discovery, but do nothing to undermine mainstream geology.
In the meantime, those who actively promote modern pterosaur claims based on highly questionable evidence
will probably do more to undermine than bolster YEC credibility.

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank David Peters, James Farlow, Darren Naish, Sharon MacKanze, Stephen Meyers, Frank Lovell, Ray Morgenweck,
and Lia Campbell for reviewing drafts of this critique or portions thereof, and offering helpful comments and corrections. I also
appreciate the observations and insights from photographic and Civil War experts Steve Woolf, Bob Zeller,
Craig Heberton, and John Richter. However, I take responsibility for any errors that remain.

Figure A1. Ptp photo in an abnormal (fake) Underwood and Underwood
frame, apparently digitally altered to fit the Ptp photo
Arrows point to corresponding misalignments at top and bottom.
Also note that the original photo in Fig. 29b was "squished"
(made wider compared to its height) to fit the fraudulent frame,
indicating that both were digitally altered.

Figure A2. Typical stereoscopic photo by Underwood and Underwood
showing dual image and internal opening shapes very unlike the Ptp
photo frame. Also note the catalog number, caption, and copyright
notice in the lower right, all missing from the Ptp photo frame.
Click on image for larger view.

Appendix A. An Underwood and Underwood Photo?

Several lines of evidence indicate that the frame in which the Ptp photo appeared on a Pintrest page is not authentic, and that
someone modified an old U & U frame to fit the Ptp photo. First, virtually all U & U photos showing similar frames were dual-image stereoscopic images;
they are not known to have cut out and mounted old photos they did not take, and mount them in their frames.
Second, neither the outside dimensions or the internal opening sizes and shapes of the Ptp frame are normal for U & U photos
(Figure A1). Third, as Woolf (2017) pointed out, on the right side the frame is slightly mismatched, and by the same amount,
at both the top and bottom (see Figure A2), strongly indicating that the frame was altered (probably digitally) to fit the Ptp
photo. Forth, most U & U frames had catalog numbers, copyright notices, and/or descriptions on the lower right of the front side,
plus more detailed descriptions on the back. None of the former appears on the front of the Ptp frame, and so far no one has provided
an image of the back of the frame in question. Fourth, as pointed out by Baryla (2017a), the photo in the U & U frame has a larger width to
height ratio (in other words it was "squished" vertically), which is clear evidence of digital manipulation. As an aside, even though
Underwood and Underwood never produced or marketed the Ptp photo, it might be noted that fake photos with fantastic or giant creatures have been
produced since long before digital photo editing became possible in the 1980's. Several examples are provided in Appendix C.

Appendix B: Possible Explanations Whitcomb should have considered for the Ptp Photo

To avoid confusion by creating a new numbering system with Whitcomb's list of 3 possibilities for the Ptp photo,
I will keep the numbers but refine them with sub-numbers and further explanations.

Whitcomb's list:

1) A real animal
2) A physical model
3) A digital construction

Expanded possibilities that Whitcomb and Paiva should have considered (several options in 2 and 3 are not mutually exclusive):

1. A real animal in a real Civil War photo (contradicted by several lines of evidence)

3B. Digital editing to add, enhance or alter features (which could be done subsequent to most of the above).
4. Combinations of the above options, such as staged photo with actors, an inserted pterosaur image, and subsequent digital
editing of the pterosaur and photo background.

Whitcomb not only failed to consider many of these possibilities and combinations, but promotes the most unlikely one
(Option 1) while shooting down the essentially straw-man Options 2A and a total Photoshop creation (3A alone).
As it turns out, the evidence points to a combination of options 2 and 3 done around 2000, involving Civil War
reenactors, a fake pterosaur (either a model or image from another source), and digital editing.

Figure C1. Theodore Roosevelt riding a moose.
A manually faked photo by and Underwood Studios
In September 8, 1912 New York Tribute Newspaper

Appendix C. Fake photos from the early 1900's

Although extensive evidence points to a fairly recent (c. 2000) date for the Ptp photo, fake photos with fantastic subjects
have been circulating for many decades, and need not require digital editing. Although it has been shown that Underwood
and Underwood Studious did not produce or market the Ptp photo, U & U Studios and other photography
shops are known to have created a number of fake photos in the early 1900's. Among those produced by U & U is a famous
1912 photo of Theodore Roosevelt riding a moose in a lake (Figure C1), which appeared in the New York Tribune
newspaper while he was seeking a third term as president. A "Myths Debunked" (2012) web page
states, "Underwood appears to have cut out an existing photograph of TR riding a horse, and carefully pasted it
onto an image of a swimming moose."

Another famous photo hoax during this time was the famous 1917-1920 case of the
"Cottingley Fairies, where two young girls in England claimed to have photographed tiny winged humanoids in their
garden (Figure C2). Some spiritualists, photo experts, and even Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle, declared the photos real,
since the girls seemed sincere and "credible", and they could find no evidence that the photo prints or negatives had been
tampered with. In the 1980's the women finally confessed that it was a hoax (Sakulich, 2017). They had simply
photographed themselves with paper cut-outs of the creatures mounted on hat pins.

During this same time period (early 1900's) many fake or "tall tale" photographs were produced by several small companies
and creative individuals using a variety of manual editing techniques. These included carefully inserted and overlaid
images, retouched negatives and prints, multiple exposures, and sometimes constructed props or staging sets (Brook, 2012).
Two prolific creators of such photos were William "Dad" Martin, and Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr., who began working around 1908, each
of whom produced dozens of post cards or "boast cards" featuring subjects such as giant fish, farm animals, and crops.
In the 1930's common subjects include insects such as giant grasshoppers, as they were common pests in the Great Plains during that period.
Examples of such photos are shown below.

Figure C4. 1909 "Tall tale" post card

Figure C5. 1909 William Martin "boast card"

Figure C6. 1938 "Tall tale" post card

Figure C7. 1909 "Tall tale" post card

Figure A8. 1913, Alfred S. Johnson, Jr. post card

Figure A9. 1910, William Martin post card

Appendix D. Whitcomb's Criticisms of My Critique

I am always open to constructive criticisms; however, in response to this critique and recent updates in it, Whitcomb
posted a number of unfounded accusations and sweeping condemnations on a number of his web pages. Instead of
dealing directly with my main arguments regarding his sightings and the Ptp evidence, he attempts to dismiss
my entire critique as a produce of "wishful thinking" and "confirmation bias" (Whitcomb, 2017f, 2017k), and
accuses me of deliberately misrepresenting some of his views or statements. Ironically, to foster this false
impression Whitcomb mischaracterizes my statements, while obscuring contradictions and ambiguities in his own.

For example, Whitcomb (2017k) accuses me of misrepresenting the Duane Hodgkinson (DH) sighting. He asserts that
I falsely called DH's friend George a biology professor, and suggests that this was entirely a product of my imagination,
stressing that it could not be a "simple error." However, Whitcomb himself calls George a biologist (SFR, p, 28) and
implied that he taught school, making my inference that he was a biology professor entirely reasonable. Indeed, on the same page Whitcomb states,
"George should have had his mind on learning something, yet it seems his mind was set on teaching". Later on the same
page Whitcomb further suggests that George was too biased to admit that he had seen a pterosaur, even though Whitcomb
admits that he never interviewed George. So, if anyone was overspeculating, it was not me. Nevertheless,
in deference to Whitcomb's comments, I have gladly removed the identification of George as a biology professor.
In contrast, Whitcomb continues to imply on multiple web pages that DH and his friend George both saw a pterosaur,
despite George's denial.

Where he does admit Geroge's denial, and makes the comment about him being "distracted by thoughts of teaching"
Whitcomb attempts to justify his imaginative speculation by asking, "what else can explain the friend's reaction?" I
would say, how about his not seeing a pterosaur? Remarkably, Whitcomb states, "Contrary to what the critic
[referring to me] has written... I never said or insinuated that DH's army buddy was distracted and so did not
see the animal". Attempting to obscure the apparent contradiction, Whitcomb states, "Let's look at what is
actually printed in SFG (4th edition)...". He then quotes passages before and after the ones that demonstrate
the apparent contradiction. To use Whitcomb's own term, this seems hard to explain as a "simple error."
I myself do not claim to know what either man saw. However, what seems clear is that Whitcomb's implying that both
men saw a pterosaur based on DH's statements, while dismissing or (more often) failing to even mention Geroge's
denial seems to fall far short of fair and objective reporting.

An especially odd criticism of Whitcomb is that I did not communicate with Duane Hodgkinson (Whitcomb, 2017).
Even if I had wanted to, I could not have, since I did not begin my research on Whitcomb's claims concerning DH until 2016, whereas
Hodgkinson died in Sept. 2015. Whitcomb knows that, since he wrote a tribute to DH's upon his passing (Whitcomb, 2017p).
Whitcomb also complains that I did not contact other eyewitnesses
of living pterosaurs, but that too seems disingenuous, since he provides no contact details for his reported eyewitnesses,
and a number of them are also reportedly deceased. Moreover, his criticism misses a major point of this critique, which is
that anecdotal reports without supporting empirical evidence are of little value, for all the reasons noted earlier. I am
glad to stipulate that many alleged eyewitnesses are probably sincere, so there would probably be little to gain from seeking
contact with them. Indeed, debating subjective "credibility" levels of eyewitnesses is moot, since without corroborating
empirical evidence, they are no more scientifically significant than reports of mermaids, leprechauns, or space aliens.

Another odd criticism that Whitcomb repeats many times in his books and web pages is that "Westerners" and "Western scientists"
are closed minded and biased against his claims. It appears to smack of anti-western prejudice (I assume he is suggesting that
Asian science and scientists are inherently superior), which seems ironic considering that Whitcomb himself is a "westerner."
Moreover, I don't know of any evidence that reputable scientists in the eastern world endorse Whitcomb's claims any more than western
scientists.

As to Whitcomb's claim that my arguments are based on mere "confirmation bias" and "wishful thinking" I will leave to the
reader to judge whether that criticism better fits his writings or mine. Whitcomb claims I could find no examples of confirmation bias
in his writings, and yet I have explicitly identified a number of such examples, and implied many others. Besides the DH case
discussed above, other obvious and severe cases include his depicting a man hearing nothing more than screeching noises in his backyard
as a "credible encounter" and "secondary evidence" for living pterosaurs, and his suggestion that unusually large
"Marfa lights" represent massive mating rituals by glowing pterosaurs. Many other examples include his depicting as "credible"
sightings that entail many ambiguities and inconsistencies while lacking any corroborating photos or physical evidence,
and his actively promoting alleged "evidences" for the Ptp photo (such as dubious "blood" and "props") that range from moot
and weak to demonstrably false, while ignoring or dismissing many strong lines of contrary evidence.

Whitcomb (2017o) ridicules the length of this critique and the number of times I mention his name, showing specific word counts on each.
However, since he is by far the most prolific advocate of "living pterosaurs" and one of only a few individuals
actively promoting the Ptp photo, I could hardly have addressed his many claims about them in a thorough manner without
providing considerable detail and mentioning his name many times. Ironically, in the past he complained that I and
others did not adequately his best sightings or Ptp evidence, so he can hardly have it both ways. Moreover, despite this
review being considerably longer than most, it is only a fraction of the volume of LP promoting material in Whitcomb's three
printed books, one eBook, two CRSQ articles, and over 10000 web pages and blog entries on the subject. Even the number
of times I mention his name is, ironically, far less than the number of times he refers to himself while promoting his views
and writings, often in the third person. Moreover, my review is also all in one place, allowing readers to readily find it
and any updates as they are made. In contrast, Whitcomb's many separate and often overlapping web pages and blog postings make it
difficult for others to even keep track of what he is claiming, and where and when. Moreover, Whitcomb's carpet-bombing tactic causes
his many redundant pages to clog searches engine results, and push out dissenting articles (possibly the reason he engages in it),
which is widely regardled as an academically improper practice.

In a recent web page Whitcomb (2017g) implies that "the most vocal skeptic" (referring to me) proposed a 19th century
"model conjecture," which is patently false; what I actually stated was that the photo was probably
staged with Civil War actors and a pterosaur model or inserted image in the 20th century or 21st century. More
recently this has been narrowed down to a c. 1998-2000 fabrication by Haxan Productions.

Whitcomb (2017g) comments that because I mentioned that the creature resembles a Pteranodon, that he and
Paiva "have stated something very similar to what Kuban states or implies" (Whitcomb, 2017g), and dismisses my
"two lists" as "irrelevant." However, as anyone can readily verify, what I stated was actually very different from
what Paiva and Whitcomb have claimed, as lists he dismisses as "irrelevant" and associated analysis
amply demonstrate. Whitcomb implies I only refute the creature being an actual Pteranodon rather than a similar
pterosaur, whereas I actually described how the carcass differs from both a Pteranodon and from any real pterosaur.

Another odd criticism by Whitcomb (2017k) is that after I corrected my initial error about the Ptp photo being a FreakyLinks
hoax, he states that he found no evidence of a "transition stage" in my article updates, where I simply admitted a
mistake but didn't "proclaim" that Ptp was a hoax. He states, "That in itself is very suspicious." I'm not sure
why he would expect such a transition "stage" or find it's lack suspicious, since as soon as I viewed the Ptp photo,
I regarded it as a likely hoax. So it was entirely fitting for me to say so promptly, and give reasons why. What
seems more is suspicious is Whitcomb's apparent tendency to see nefarious motives even in the most
innocuous and appropriate actions by me or others. Similarly troubling is his tendency to belabor minor and
moot points, while ignoring or dismissing compelling evidence against his claims, and his not making necessary
timely corrections even after plain errors are pointed out (such as his U & U photo claims).

Baryla, Bruce, 2017b. Incontrovertable Proof that the Civil War Soldiers and Pterosaur" photograph claims to be
authentic by John David Whitcom and Clifford Paiva is a modern "photoshopped" image. Web page at:
http://web.newsguy.com/bruceb/whitcombfake.htm

Baugh, Carl E., 1989b. Article by David Bassett at Baugh's Creation Evidence Museum web site at
www.creationevidence.org. Bassett states that the great Flood of Genesis took place "definitely
4,300-4,400 years ago".

Peters, David, 2001. The post was originally in his "ThePterosaurHomepage" website blog, which no longer exists.
A copy of it was related in an article by Derek Barnes of the FreakyLinks series (Barnes, 1998).